Civil Procedure Commons^™

The Predictability Of Punitive Damages, Theodore Eisenberg, John Goerdt, Brian Ostrom, David Rottman, Martin T. Wells

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Using one year of jury trial outcomes from 45 of the nation's most populous counties, this article shows a strong and statistically significant correlation between compensatory and punitive damages. These findings are replicated in 25 years of punitive damages awards from Cook County, Illinois, and California. In addition, we find no evidence that punitive damages awards are more likely when individuals sue businesses than when individuals sue individuals. With respect to award frequency, juries rarely award punitive damages and appear to be especially reluctant to do so in the areas of law that have captured the most attention, products liability …

Awarding Attorney's Fees To Pro Se Litigants Under Rule 11, Jeremy D. Spector

Michigan Law Review

Among the myriad rules and statutes designed to curb litigation abuse, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") is "the most widely used and most controversial of the sanctions rules." The increased use of Rule ll during the last fifteen years and the recent proliferation of fee-shifting provisions in federal statutes4 have led to an onslaught of motions for attorney's fees in the federal district courts. Simultaneously, these courts are seeing an increasing number of pro se litigants appear before them. The confluence of these two trends has produced the seemingly paradoxical result of pro se parties …

The Theory Of Fee Regulation In Class Action Settlements , Bruce L. Hay

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

United States V. Ursery: The Long Arm Of The Law Gets Reattached, Brian C. Max

Mercer Law Review

In United States v. Ursery, the United States Supreme Court evaluated the constitutionality of in rem civil forfeitures when they are used with criminal proceedings in relation to a single act. Ursery was a consolidation of two cases, United States v. Ursery and United States v. $405,089.23 United States Currency, from the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, respectively.

Mcknight V. Rees: Delineating The Qualified Immunity "Haves" And "Have-Nots" Among Private Parties, James L. Ahlstrom

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Misapplication Of Daubert: Compton V. Subaru Of America Opens The Gate For Unreliable And Irrelevant Expert Testimony, Jonathan R. Schofield

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Extending The Due Process Clause To Prevent A Previously Recused Judge From Later Attempting To Affect The Case From Which He Was Recused, S. Matthew Cook

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Oregon Trial Practice, Oregon Law Institute, William Gaylord, Robert A. Shlachter, Janet Lee Hoffman, Robert J. Neuberger, Billy M. Sime, Gregory R. Mowe, David B. Markowitz, Bruce C. Hamlin

Oregon Law Institute, 1997

Course Materials from the April 11, 1997 Program in Portland

Sheldon V. Fettig: Interpreting The Substitute Service Of Process Statute In Washington, Dana Richardson

Washington Law Review

In Sheldon v. Fettig, the Washington Supreme Court announced a new rule for interpreting Washington's substitute service of process statute. This new rule calls for a liberal reading of the substitute service of process statute to better effect its legislative purpose, thus overruling the line of cases calling for strict construction of the substitute service of process statute. This Note analyzes the basis of the former rule, the Sheldon rule, and the Sheldon dissent's proposed rule. It concludes that the former rule of interpretation should be retained because it preserves canons of strict construction and better protects defendants' due …

Cultural Chauvinism In Comparative Law, John H. Langbein

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article critiques the use of cultural stereotypes to dismiss the potential of adopting superior legal procedures from other countries, specifically targeting Oscar Chase's argument that American cultural traits prevent the adoption of German civil procedure reforms. It argues that such cultural chauvinism obscures the inefficiencies and injustices in the American adversary system and that procedural improvements from comparative law should not be dismissed based on cultural differences.

Legal Processes And National Culture, Oscar G. Chase

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the relationship between national culture and legal processes, arguing that cultural differences significantly impact the feasibility of adopting foreign legal procedures. It focuses on the suggestion to adopt German civil litigation rules in the U.S., asserting that cultural barriers, particularly regarding authority and individualism, make such adoption problematic. The author contends that understanding these cultural dimensions is crucial for evaluating legal reforms.

Playing The Culture Card In Resisting Cross-Jurisdictional Transplants: A Comment On "Legal Processes And National Culture", John D. Jackson

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article critiques Oscar Chase's argument that cultural differences between nations, particularly Germany and the United States, pose formidable barriers to transplanting legal procedures from one jurisdiction to another. While acknowledging the importance of culture in shaping legal institutions, the analysis suggests that the influence of national culture on legal processes is more nuanced and less deterministic than Chase implies. It argues that legal systems are capable of change and adaptation, and that globalization and convergence of legal traditions may mitigate the predicted cultural misfit.

Bennett V. Plenert: The Ninth Circuit's Application Of The Zone Of Interests Test To Citizen Suits Under The Endangered Species Act, Alyssa Wardrup

Mercer Law Review

The Ninth Circuit, in Bennett v. Plenert, ruled that plaintiffs' economic injury did not satisfy the requirements for standing under the citizen-suit provision of the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). The Ninth Circuit imposed the zone of interests test in addition to Article III standing requirements. Under the ESA's citizen-suit provision, the zone of interests test means that plaintiffs must assert "an interest in the preservation of endangered species" to have standing. Plaintiffs appealed the Ninth Circuit's decision, and the Supreme Court has granted certiorari. The Court will likely resolve a division among the circuits in applying or not applying …

Pleading And Proof: The Economics Of Legal Burdens, Thomas R. Lee

BYU Law Review

Courts have traditionally assigned burdens of pleading and burdens of proof by mechanically applying any of a number of meaningless "tests." Conventional doctrine assigns these burdens to the party to whose case the issue in question is "essential," or to the party who must establish the "affirmative proposition." Neither of these tests provides a coherent methodology for making such allocations. The first is circular-an issue is "essential" by virtue of the fact that the party has been assigned the burden. The latter is unworkable; it depends on accidents of syntax and may be easily manipulated. This Article attempts to fill …

Putting The Halper Genie Back In The Bottle: Examining United States U. Ursery In Light Of Halper, Austin, And Kurth Ranch, Sarah Jean Watterson

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tolling The Statute Of Limitations For Survivors Of Domestic Violence Who Wish To Recover Civil Damages Against Their Abusers, Lisa Napoli

Circles: Buffalo Women's Journal of Law and Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Legal Process And Choice Of Law, William L. Reynolds

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Happens When Parties Fail To Prove Foreign Law?, William L. Reynolds

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Interest Groups, Contracts And Interest Analysis, Erin O'Hara O'Connor, Larry E. Ribstein

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

A Worthy Champion For Fourteenth Amendment Rights: The United States In Parens Patriae, Larry Yackle

Faculty Scholarship

When the Clinton Administration announced its intention to challenge Proposition 209, the new prohibition on affirmative action in California, the Justice Department declined to say whether the United States would formally intervene in the lawsuit already under way or merely file an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs. Casual observers may have assumed that the Administration considered the form of its participation to raise further political and strategic considerations. That was undoubtedly true. It was also true, however, that Justice Department lawyers faced a legal question as well. According to the precedents on point, the United States required an authorizing statute …

Lawyers' Roles In Child Protection, Donald N. Duquette

Book Chapters

What roles and responsibilities do lawyers assume in civil child protection cases? As distinguished from other legal proceedings which may grow from a case of child maltreatment, civil child protection proceedings focus on the child and the child's needs. These civil cases are not concerned with punishing an offender, recovering money damages from a person or institution who may have harmed a child, or suspending someone from a professional license. The focus here is on the proper care and custody of the child.

If The International Shoe Fits, Wear It: Applying Traditional Personal Jurisdiction Analysis To Cyberspace In Compuserve, Inc. V. Patterson, Daniel V. Logue

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Debtors' Good Faith In Us Bankruptcy Proceedings, Chen Yang

LLM Theses and Essays

Bankruptcy is a judicial process purporting to regulate and adjust the financial relationships between debtors and creditors which come into a deadlock. In the modern United States, bankruptcy has become a concept pervading each corner of the social and economic lives. It touches mass tort victims, large corporations, small family business, government institutions, and even normal individuals. The appearance of the modern bankruptcy law of the United States is signaled by the enactment of the Bankruptcy Reform Act in 1978 which, together with later amendments, constitute the current Bankruptcy Code of the United States; but also help them strategically restructure …

The Continuous Representation Doctrine: Must You Sue Your Lawyer While She Still Represents You, Timothy O. Dudley

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction (A Reappraisal Of The Supplemental-Jurisdiction Statute: Title 28 U.S.C Sec. 1387, Symposium), Gene R. Shreve

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: A Reappraisal of the Supplemental-Jurisdiction Statute: Title 28 U.S.C sec. 1387.

Magistrate Judges In The Montana Federal District, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Over the last three decades, growing caseloads and finite resources have fostered expansion of the jurisdiction, responsibilities, prestige and compensation of United States Magistrate Judges. Passage of the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990, which required local experimentation with procedures for reducing expense and delay in civil litigation, propelled this development in many of the ninety-four federal districts across the country. The United States District Court for the District of Montana has quite strongly evidenced these phenomena. Perhaps most important, the CJRA expense and delay reduction plan that the district prescribed in 1991 included an opt-out procedure which it …

Simplifying The Choice Of Forum: A Reply, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

We have three things to think about here, as the real estate agents say—“location, location, location.” Accordingly, the two of us have engaged for several years in empirical studies aimed at gauging the effect of forum on case outcome. The results to date strongly suggest that forum really matters. An early piece of the puzzle fell into place in our study of venue. In that article, we examined the benefits and costs of the federal courts scheme of transfer of civil venue “in the interest of justice.” Ours was a pretty straightforward and simple cost-benefit analysis, but we supported it …

The Litigious Plaintiff Hypothesis: Case Selection And Resolution, Theodore Eisenberg, Henry S. Farber

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The process through which cases are selected for litigation cannot be ignored because it yields a set of lawsuits and plaintiffs that is far from a random selection either of potential claims or of potential claimants. We present a theoretical framework for understanding the operation of this suit-selection process and its relationship to the underlying distribution of potential claims and claimants. The model has implications for the trial rate and the plaintiff win rate at trial. Our empirical analysis, using data on over 200,000 federal civil litigations, yields results that are strongly consistent with the theory.

Discovery In International Legal Developments Year In Review: 1996, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

American procedure regarding international discovery stems from 28 U.S.C. §§ 1781-83, and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP or Rule) 28(b). Broadly speaking, these rules are concerned with the mechanics of assessing requests for discovery in the United States to assist a proceeding in a foreign country and attempts by one or more parties before a U.S. court to obtain evidence located in another country. This article serves as a brief review of developments during the year.

Class Action Chaos? The Theory Of The Core And An Analysis Of Opt-Out Rights In Mass Tort Class Actions, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

From breast implants to cigarettes, mass tort class actions are a prominent and controversial part of the contemporary litigation landscape. A critical component of these actions is the ability of class members to “opt out” and thereby exclude themselves from the effect of any class judgment. The tension between individual autonomy and the desire for global resolution of mass controversies has led to an intense debate concerning the circumstances under which opt-out rights should be constrained, if at all.

This Article makes five distinct contributions to the class action literature. First, the Article applies the game theoretic concept of the …