Litigation Commons^™

Employment Discrimination Class Actions After Wal-Mart V. Dukes, Michael Selmi, Sylvia Tsakos

Akron Law Review

This Article explores the ramifications of Wal-Mart approximately five years after the case was decided. While five years hardly provides definitive data on how the case will be interpreted, it is possible to identify trends in the cases that have been decided to date—trends that are likely to provide insight into the future of class action claims. That future suggests that there will be fewer, and perhaps no, nationwide class actions in cases that do not involve a clear challenged practice (any such cases are likely to be disparate impact cases) and that the prospect for class certification will turn …

The Class Abides: Class Actions And The "Roberts Court", Elizabeth J. Cabraser

Akron Law Review

This Article does not delve deeply into the substantive issues of Wal-Mart, Concepcion, or Italian Colors...My focus is on how Rule 23 has fared, structurally and practically, in the aftermath of the “common answer” formulation of Wal-Mart; three other decisions of the Roberts Court, Dukes, Amgen, and Comcast; and three cases that the Roberts Court did not ultimately take in the wake of Amgen and Comcast: its denials of review in Whirlpool, Butler, and Deepwater. Also discussed is the newly intense debate on the use of cy pres, catalyzed by Chief Justice Roberts’ extraordinary “Statement” accompanying the denial of certiorari …

Ordering Proof: Beyond Adversarial And Inquisitorial Trial Structures, Emily Spottswood

Scholarly Publications

In typical trials, judges and juries will find it easier to remember the proof that occurs early in the process over than what comes later. Moreover, once a fact-finder starts to form a working hypothesis to explain the facts of the case, they will be biased towards interpreting new facts in a way that confirms that theory. These two psychological mechanisms will often combine to create a strong “primacy effect,” in which the party who goes first gains a subtle, but significant, advantage over the opposing party. In this article, I propose a new method of ordering proof, designed to …

Preservation Rules In The Federal Courts Of Appeals, Ian S. Speir, Nima H. Mohebbi

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

The Discovery Sombrero And Other Metaphors For Litigation, William H. J. Hubbard

Catholic University Law Review

Little is known about discovery costs in civil litigation, particularly in regard to preservation—the duty to preserve relevant information when litigation is reasonably anticipated. This article is one of the first to present and analyze empirical evidence on the nature and costs of preservation and discovery. Using this data, the author proposes three new metaphors for civil litigation: the discovery sombrero, the preservation iceberg, and the long tail of litigation costs. These metaphors help demonstrate the sometimes surprising ways that the Erie doctrine, the role of technology in litigation, and the Federal Rules’ commitment to transsubstantivity interact with current challenges …

The Citizen's Relief Against Inactive Federal Officials: Case Studies In Mandamus, Actions "In The Nature Of Mandamus," And Mandatory Injuctions, Howard W. Brill

Akron Law Review

Historically, the citizen-plaintiff would have sought the common law writ of mandamus if he were able to scale, or avoid, the threshold barriers of standing and sovereign immunity. This article will examine briefly the history of the writ of mandamus, the requirements for issuance of the writ, and the defenses accepted by courts to deny its issuance. The article will focus specifically on the unique position of the writ in federal courts, including its abolition by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Procedural Defenses Available To The New-Party Defendant: The Necessity Of Obtaining Leave To Amend And Relation Back, F. Thomas Vickers

Akron Law Review

The application of the Rules of Civil Procedure to these various situations has been the subject of much judicial attention. In this regard, two issues have provoked the greatest amount of controversy, to wit: (1) whether leave of court is required prior to amendment of the complaint to add a new-party defendant, and (2) when and under what circumstances may a new-party defendant be brought into a civil action after the statute of limitations applicable to the claim asserted against him has expired. It is upon these questions that this paper is primarily focused.

Don’T Forget About The Jury: Advice For Civil Litigators And Criminal Prosecutors On Differences In State And Federal Courts In New York, Ariel Atlas

Cornell Law Library Cantwell Prize for Exemplary Student Research Papers

In civil cases, forum selection has become an integral part of litigation strategy. Plaintiffs have the initial choice of where to file a complaint, and thus where to begin a lawsuit. Defendants have the power to remove cases, under circumstances prescribed by statute, from state court to federal court. Many factors enter into the decision of where to file a complaint or whether to remove a case including convenience, applicable law, and suspected biases. But what about the jury? Should a plaintiff consider characteristics of the jury when deciding where to file a complaint or a defendant in a civil …

Procuring Trial Testimony From Corporate Officers And Employees: Alternative Methods And Suggestions For Reform, Richard J. Oparil

Akron Law Review

This article discusses the situation under the current Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including some alternative methods of obtaining testimony at trial. The article then discusses various ways the problem could be solved through rule changes to help ensure live trial testimony by corporate officials.

Scrutiny Of The Venire, Scrutiny From The Bench: Smithkline Beecham Corp. V. Abbott Laboratories And The Application Of Heightened Scrutiny To Sexual Orientation Classifications, Parker Williams

Catholic University Law Review

In SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Abbott Laboratories, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals applied heightened scrutiny to a sexual orientation classification. Through SmithKline, the Ninth Circuit became one of the first federal circuit courts to do so explicitly; and by unequivocally applying a more exacting standard than rational basis, it furthered the framework developed in cases such as Romer v. Evans, Lawrence v. Texas, and United States v. Windsor. This Note asserts that SmithKline is a significant victory for the advancement of LGBT rights, as evidenced by its use to strike down several same-sex marriage bans …

Obtaining International Judicial Assistance Under The Federal Rules And The Hague Convention On The Taking Of Evidence Abroad In Civil And Commercial Matters: An Exposition Of The Procedures And A Practical Example: In Re Westinghouse Uranium Contract Litigation, Robert J. Augustine

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Resurrecting Trial By Statistics, Jay Tidmarsh

Journal Articles

“Trial by statistics” was a means by which a court could resolve a large number of aggregated claims: a court could try a random sample of claim, and extrapolate the average result to the remainder. In Wal-Mart, Inc. v. Dukes, the Supreme Court seemingly ended the practice at the federal level, thus removing from judges a tool that made mass aggregation more feasible. After examining the benefits and drawbacks of trial by statistics, this Article suggests an alternative that harnesses many of the positive features of the technique while avoiding its major difficulties. The technique is the “presumptive judgment”: a …

Trending @ Rwu Law: Professor Niki Kuckes's Post: Litigation Academy Returns, Niki Kuckes

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Is Limited Remand Required If The District Court Admitted Or Excluded Evidence Without A Daubert Analysis?, Robert B. Gilbreath

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Judging Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Scholarly Works

High-stakes multidistrict litigations saddle the transferee judges who manage them with an odd juxtaposition of power and impotence. On one hand, judges appoint and compensate lead lawyers (who effectively replace parties’ chosen counsel) and promote settlement with scant appellate scrutiny or legislative oversight. But on the other, without the arsenal class certification once afforded, judges are relatively powerless to police the private settlements they encourage. Of course, this power shortage is of little concern since parties consent to settle.

Or do they? Contrary to conventional wisdom, this Article introduces new empirical data revealing that judges appoint an overwhelming number of …

Solving The Puzzle Of Transnational Class Actions, Kevin M. Clermont

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

How should a U.S. class action treat proposed foreign class members in a circumstance where any resulting judgment will likely not bind those absentees abroad? The dominant approach has been an exclusionary one, dropping the absentees from the class. This essay instead recommends an inclusionary approach, so that all the foreigners would remain members of the class in transnational class actions. But the court should create a subclass in damages actions for the foreign claimants who might have an incentive to sue again; the subclass would proceed by the accepted technique of claims-made recovery, so that the subclass members could …

Isolating Litigants: A Response To Pamela Bookman, Alan M. Trammell

Scholarly Articles

In a recent article, Litigation Isolationism, Pamela Bookman identifies a phenomenon that similarly changes hue depending on one’s perspective or disposition. Bookman argues that four doctrines (personal jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, abstention comity, and the presumption against extraterritoriality) conspire to make U.S. courts significantly less hospitable to transnational litigation. In Bookman’s assessment, such isolationism is counterproductive because the doctrines often fail to vindicate their stated goals of respecting the separation of powers, international comity, and defendants’ interests. The article is crisp and elegant. It synthesizes disparate areas of law to elucidate a broader development in civil litigation. And it makes …

Disaggregated Classes, Benjamin P. Edwards

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Solving The Puzzle Of Transnational Class Actions, Kevin M. Clermont

Indiana Law Journal

How should a U.S. class action treat proposed foreign class members in a circumstance where any resulting judgment will likely not bind those absentees abroad? The Author responds to Zachary Clopton’s analysis of this puzzle, and introduces a counterproposal.

Deselecting Biased Juries, Scott W. Howe

Utah Law Review

Critics of peremptory-challenge systems commonly contend that they inevitably inflict “inequality harm” on many excused persons and should be abolished. Ironically, the Supreme Court fueled this argument with its decision in Batson v. Kentucky by raising and endorsing the inequality claim sua sponte and then purporting to solve it with an approach that preserved peremptories. This Article shows, however, that the central problem is something other than inequality harm to excused persons. The central problem is the harm to disadvantaged litigants when their opponents use peremptories to secure a one-sided jury. This problem can arise often—whenever a venire is slanted …

Transnational Class Actions In The Shadow Of Preclusion, Zachary D. Clopton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The American class action is a procedural tool that advances substantive law values such as deterrence, compensation, and fairness. Opt-out class actions in particular achieve these goals by aggregating claims not only of active participants but also passive plaintiffs. Full faith and credit then extends the preclusive effect of class judgments to other U.S. courts. But there is no international full faith and credit obligation, and many foreign courts will not treat U.S. class judgments as binding on passive plaintiffs. Therefore, some plaintiffs may be able to wait until the U.S. class action is resolved before either joining the U.S. …

From Commitment To Compliance: Enforceability Of Remedial Orders Of African Human Rights Bodies, Roger-Claude Liwanga

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Over the last seven decades, there has been a global proliferation of international and regional human rights tribunals. But with no coercive power to enforce their judgments, these international tribunals rely either on the good faith of the State parties or on the political process for the implementation of their remedial orders. This nonjudicial approach to enforcement has showed its limits, as most State parties are noncompliant with international judgments to the detriment of human rights victims. This article recommends a new approach involving the judicialization of the post-adjudicative stage of international proceedings as an avenue to increase the enforceability …

The Mdl Vortex Revisited, Thomas B. Metzloff

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Pragmatic Approach To Interpreting The Federal Rules, Suzette M. Malveaux

Publications

No abstract provided.

Lawrence V. Texas: The Decision And Its Implications For The Future, Martin A. Schwartz

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Qualified Immunity: The Constitutional Analysis And Its Application, Karen Blum

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Guidelines And Best Practices For Large And Mass Tort Mdls (First Edition), Duke Law School Center For Judicial Studies

Bolch Judicial Institute Publications

Mass-tort MDLs dominate the federal civil docket, yet they present enormous challenges to transferee judges assigned to manage them. There is little official guidance and no rules specific to the management of mass-tort MDLs, often requiring the transferee judge to develop procedures out of whole cloth.

Beginning in 2013, the Bolch Judicial Institute (then the Center for Judicial Studies) sought to address this issue through a series of annual bench-bar conferences. From these conferences came the Guidelines and Best Practices for Large and Mass-Tort MDLs document, which is designed to help judges and legal practitioners understand and efficiently navigate complex …

A Blended Approach To Reducing The Costs Of Shareholder Litigation, Valian A. Afshar

Michigan Law Review

Multiforum litigation and federal securities law class actions impose heavy costs on corporations and their shareholders without producing proportionate benefits. Both are largely the result of the agency problem between shareholders and their attorneys, driven more by the attorneys’ interests in generating fees than by the interests of their clients. In response to each of these problems, commentators have recommended a number of solutions. Chief among them are forum selection and mandatory arbitration provisions in a corporation’s charter or bylaws. This Note recommends that corporations unilaterally adopt both forum selection and mandatory arbitration bylaws to address shareholder lawsuits under state …

Conflict Of Laws, James P. George, Susan T. Phillips

Faculty Scholarship

States' and nations' laws collide when foreign factors appear in a lawsuit. Nonresident litigants, incidents outside the forum, and judgments from other jurisdictions can create problems with personal jurisdiction, choice of law, and the recognition of foreign judgments. This Article reviews Texas conflict cases from Texas state and federal courts during the Survey-period from November 1, 2011 through October 31, 2013. The Article excludes cases involving federal-state conflicts; intrastate issues, such as subject matter jurisdiction and venue; and conflicts in time, such as the applicability of prior or subsequent law within a state. State and federal cases are discussed together …

Stuart V. Hertz Corp. And Its New Jury Instruction: "Dump" The Case And "Clunker" That Old Rental Car, Larry Roth

Florida A & M University Law Review

The Florida Supreme Court has allowed new Standard Civil Jury Instructions ("SCJI") recommended by its Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. 2 In allowing these new instructions, however, the Court chose to not actually give its seal of approval to the Instructions set out in 501.5. 3 Thematically, these SCJI deal with the tort law concept of "Other Contributing Causes of Damages.