Litigation Commons^™

Third-Party Funding Of Patent Litigation: Problems And Solutions, Korok Ray, Adam Olson

Utah Law Review

This Article documents the rise of third-party funding in patent litigation. We track funding sources for patent lawsuits in the United States from 2002 to 2021, which show an increase in cases and percentage funded by third parties. While we cannot say third-party funding increased patent litigation, we can observe the correlation. The use of the champerty doctrine by patent trolls distorts the marketplace and causes frivolous litigation.

The secondary patent market created a robust litigation market in which non-practicing entities (NPEs) can buy from innovators and sue defendants. Capital investments bet on litigation, hoping for a return without interest …

Does Third Party Litigation Funding Need Regulations On Consumer Protection, Ronen Avraham, Eric Schuller, Tony Sebok

Utah Law Review

Transcript of a roundtable discussion during the Third-Party Litigation Symposium at the S.J. Quinney College of Law

Don’T Go Chasing Litigation Funding Waterfalls, David S. Abrams, Tom Baker

Utah Law Review

Proponents of third-party litigation funding argue that it is socially beneficial, helping parties bring meritorious litigation that otherwise would not be possible, due in part to the ability of the plaintiff to share risk with funders. But the reality of how some third-party funding contracts are structured belies this theory. Many such contracts include “waterfall” clauses whereby funders get paid back first upon successful case resolution. This leaves most of the risk on the plaintiff, the party usually least equipped to bear it. This is at odds with the prescription of standard economic theory, which suggests that the residual claimant …

Does Third Party Litigation Funding Need Regulations On Consumer Protection, Ronen Avraham, Eric Schuller, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

Transcript of a roundtable discussion during the Third-Party Litigation Symposium at the S.J. Quinney College of Law.

A Quarter Century After The Products Liability Restatement: Reflections, Aaron D. Twerski

Brooklyn Law Review

A quarter century has passed since the adoption by the American Law Institute of the Products Liability Restatement. It is time to reflect on whether it has influenced the courts. At the time of its adoption there was considerable controversy with regard to several sections. Some sections were not controversial. There was little disagreement that a plaintiff may draw a res ipsa like inference of product defect. Nor was there disagreement that if a product was in violation of statute that the product was defective per se. Two sections were highly controversial. The Restatement held that a product could not …

Into The Twilight Zone: Reverse Citizenship Discrimination, Damage Caps, And Escalating Incoherence, William R. Corbett

Brooklyn Law Review

Federal employment discrimination law has become such an asymmetrical and largely incoherent body of law that those who find themselves in its midst can feel as though they have entered another realm or dimension—the “twilight zone.” The role of Section 1981 (42 U.S.C. § 1981) in federal employment discrimination law poses some significant mysteries and problems. The statute was enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to ensure the rights of recently liberated slaves, and it was amended in 1870. One of the rights guaranteed by Section 1981 is the right to make and enforce contracts on …

The Opioid Litigation’S Challenge For Tort Theory, Alexander B. Lemann

Brooklyn Law Review

Tort litigation related to the opioid crisis has spanned several decades and led to tens of billions of dollars in liability. While several important opioid cases remain pending in various stages of litigation, it is now possible to sketch a basic outline of the results: individual plaintiffs sued opioid manufacturers on a variety of theories, seeking redress for the harms resulting from their addictions. They all lost. Following a pattern established by the tobacco litigation thirty years earlier, public plaintiffs, including city, county, and tribal governments, then filed their own suits, principally on public nuisance theories. These cases were much …

Redefining The Scope Of Anti-Discrimination Law: Illuminating Colorism As A Basis For Discrimination Claims By Black Entertainers, Tolulope F. Odunsi-Nelson

Brooklyn Law Review

This Article critically examines the pervasive issue of colorism within the entertainment industry and its profound impact on dark-skinned Black entertainers. Anti-Black colorism is discrimination against Black people with darker skin tones and Afrocentric features (i.e. darker eye color, kinkier hair, broader nose, fuller lips). Tracing the historical roots of colorism from the colonial era to contemporary times, the Article emphasizes how societal preferences for Eurocentric features and anti-Black racism have created and perpetuated a hierarchy that disadvantages darker-skinned individuals. It analyzes the underrepresentation and pay disparities faced by dark-skinned Black actors and actresses. It details the industry’s preference for …

Holding Up A Mirror To Hostile Gender Legislation: The Impact Of Drag Bans On The Theater Industry, Claire B. Epstein

Pace Law Review

States, particularly infringing upon the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Certain states have sought to introduce “drag ban” laws under the guise of protecting children from viewing obscene content. These laws, in effect, are harmful to people, children especially, and have a chilling effect on expression, leaving critical harm in their wake. Laws such as these cast a wide net of regulation, opening up otherwise innocent citizens to criminal and civil liability. The theater industry is particularly affected by these regulations, even if lawmakers do not acknowledge this potential harm. This article will focus on three laws seeking to regulate …

Shield, Sword, Or Relic Of Yore? The Apex Doctrine's Quest In The Modern Legal Arena (And What Future Battles May Bring), Katerina Fernandez

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cross-Appeals In Maine: Pitfalls For The Winning Litigant, Maine Law Review

Maine Law Review

The question of when a winning party must cross-appeal to challenge non-determinative findings in defense of a favorable judgment was answered for the first time in Maine in the recent case of Littlefield v. Littlefield. Noting a split of authority between the federal and state courts, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unpredictably determined that an appellee must file a cross-appeal if he seeks to attack adverse findings which, if decided differently, would adequately support the judgment. In Littlefield, the court's objective was to provide notice to opposing parties. Recognizing that this end is a legitimate concern, the question here is …

Forbes V. Wells Beach Casino And The Contemporaneous Ownership Rule, Maine Law Review

Maine Law Review

Prior to the enactment of Title 13-A of the Maine Business Corporation Act in January 1972, it was unsettled in Maine law whether a stockholder suing in a derivative action had to allege ownership of stock at the time of the wrongful transaction. In Forbes v. Wells Beach Casino, Inc., initiated before Title 13-A became effective, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court handed down its initial pronouncement on the stockholder standing issue. The decision makes clear that even in those jurisdictions where contemporaneous ownership is required, the rule is not absolute. The Maine court found that there are instances in which …

No Lawyer, No Jail: A Critical Case Study Of Pragmatism And The Flaws Of “Purposeful” Decision Making In Argersinger V. Hamlin, Alisa Smith, Sarah K. Stice

Seattle University Law Review

By releasing conference notes and internal communications, Supreme Court Justices provide insight into the otherwise private decisionmaking process, shedding light on how case outcomes and legal reasoning are framed and negotiated. The watershed case of Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) extended the constitutional right to counsel to some, but not all, misdemeanor defendants. The case was argued twice, and the Court relied on empirical and authoritative sources to answer complex and practical questions about requiring counsel. This case study employs critical discourse analysis to uncover what influenced the Justices’ decisions and how they framed, shaped, and constructed social realities to foreground …

The Race To Erase: Destruction Of Government Documents Undermines Freedom-Of-Information Laws, Frank D. Lomonte

Seattle University Law Review

In August 2019, reporters with Chattanooga’s daily newspaper, the Times Free Press, filed what seemed to be a routine request for access to emails and other public records held by their local county government. The seemingly unremarkable request set the newspaper’s staff on a months-long journey of unpleasant surprises. The first was a demand to pay the county $717 in advance before being allowed to inspect the documents. The second was that—during prolonged haggling over the fee assessment— the county attorney’s office simply destroyed almost all of the disputed records. Third, and most glaringly, the journalists discovered that Tennessee law …

When You’Re Arrested For A Felony In Seattle, You’Ll Meet Me., Austin Field

Seattle University Law Review

In this Essay, Austin Field, a practicing public defender, uses a first-person perspective to describe what it is like to meet a criminal defendant for the first time. He explains the process from start to finish, detailing everything from the way he introduces himself to how bail works.

"I’ll ask you for your name. Most of the time, you tell me. I check your name against my list. On any given day I’m supposed to interview between five and fifteen people. I have a lot of questions for you. We only have about ten minutes."

The Public Square In A Private-Property Obsessed Country: What New York City’S Pops Regulations Get Right And Why Other Cities Should (Mostly) Copy Them, Carson Mcgregor

Seattle University Law Review

When New York City (NYC) was first becoming the metropolitan monolith it is today, it had a problem: the city streets were chock full of skyscrapers, and sunlight, air, and usable open space were at a premium. In response, the City promulgated its first Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) regulations, which allowed developers to build skyward in exchange for providing public space on the street level. Unfortunately, in July of 2023, the New York Times (NYT) discovered that New Yorkers received only a fraction of what they were promised. Building owners received billions of dollars’ worth of added floor space, …

Modern Day Colonialism Through HawaiʻI’S Quiet Title And Partition Laws, Cheyann Fujii

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will attempt to highlight important aspects of Hawaiian history to provide readers with a clear picture on how Native Hawaiians are still impacted by colonialism, specifically when plaintiffs bring a quiet title or partition action against Native Hawaiian owners of kuleana lands. Before colonization, the concept of private land ownership did not exist in Hawai‘i, and Native Hawaiians adopted a feudal system by dividing land into geographical areas. Missionaries and businessmen brought Western ideas to Hawai‘i and influenced legislation such as the Great Māhele and the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, which solidified the concept of private property. …

Data Advantage And Merger Review: Can Entrenchment Theory Reform Antitrust Enforcement?, Shin-Ru Cheng

Seattle University Law Review

A merger involving giant digital companies is likely to dampen competition, as it allows those companies to combine and control data access, enabling them to entrench their dominant positions in relevant markets and extend those positions into related markets. While competition law in many jurisdictions aims to prohibit mergers that may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly, arguably the review of digital mergers is failing because antitrust agencies lack an effective approach to identify data-generated anticompetitive harms. This Article demonstrates that entrenchment theory, recently reintroduced in the 2023 U.S. Merger Guidelines, would help reform the process of antitrust enforcement. …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Caution: Potholes In E-Scooter Data Collection, Dakota Rakestraw

Seattle University Law Review

Lime scooters keep ending up in major waterways in Washington state metro areas, a testament to the ubiquity of e-scooters in the metropolitan landscape. How they get there is unclear. Why they get there is even murkier. Perhaps the answer lies in the implications of modern geolocation data collection through e-scooters and gaps in current data collection regulation curbing individual liberties.

Since September 2020, electric scooters have run Seattle’s streets and have dramatically overtaken ridesharing bike trips. For example, from September 2020 to September 2021, there were about 1.4 million scooter and bike trips with September 2021 seeing 300,000 scooter …