prosecuted at trial, and when an out-of-court settlement is possible. Using a numerical example, it is shown that settlements and …This note reexamines the theory of optimal public enforcement when litigation costs are incurred if the defendant is …

plaintiff recovery to a specified range. Whereas existing work describes litigation as a choice between trial and settlement … high-low agreement is a private contract that, if signed by litigants before the conclusion of a trial, constrains any … incomplete settlements. In our theoretical model, trial is both costly and risky. When litigants have divergent subjective …

One of the principal results in the economic theory of liability is that, assuming litigation is costless, the rule of … strict liability with compensatory damages leads the injurer to choose the socially appropriate level of care. This paper … reexamines this result when litigation is costly. It is shown that strict liability with compensatory damages generally leads to …

results that are generally consistent with the theory. Lawsuits where the plaintiff is an individual are found to have higher … case selection process we present, yields clear predictions on trial rates as a function of whether the plaintiff and … defendant were individuals or corporations. The model also yields a prediction on the plaintiff's win rate in lawsuits as a …

is available are used to address 1) the specific question of the role of the negligence rule in the dispute settlement … quality of medical care is an extremely important determinant of deferdants' medical malpractice liability. More generally, we …

federal government and private litigants and litigation translate into differences in trial rates and plaintiff win rates at … trial. Our case selection model generates a set of predictions for relative trial rates and plaintiff win rates depending on …