A simple auction-theoretic framework is used to examine symmetric litigation environments where the legal ownership of a disputed asset is unknown to the court. The court observes only the quality of the case presented by each party, and awards the asset to the party presenting the best case....

We address one of the cardinal puzzles of European corporate law: the lack of derivate share-holder suits. We explain this phenomenon on the basis of percentage limits which require share-holders to hold a minimum amount of shares in order to bring a lawsuit. We show that, under this legal...

We investigate the impact of the race and income of the jury pool on trial awards. We find that the average tort award increases as black and Hispanic county population rates increase and especially as black and Hispanic county poverty rates increase. An increase in the black countypoverty rate...

Victims want to collect damages from injurers. Cases differ with respect to the judgment. Attorneys observe the expected judgment, clients do not. Victims need an attorney to sue; defense attorneys reduce the probability that the plaintiff prevails. Plaintiffs' attorneys offer contingent fees...

Drawing on Transaction Costs Economics, this paper develops a new approach to conflict of law rules. It outlines a concept of constitutional uncertainty in international trade and presents a model of international transactions in the presence of a diversity of legal orders. We develop a general...

Wirtschaftlicher Austausch kann sich nur entwickeln, wenn er hinreichend gegen opportunistisches Verhalten abgesichert ist. In der globalisierten Wirtschaft des 21. Jahrhunderts werden grenzüberschreitende Geschäfte meist nicht durch staatliche Gerichte, sondern durch 'Private Ordering' und...

Die deutsche Rechtsprechung hält trotz früh geäußerter Kritik für alle Bereiche des IER am Grundsatz der Territorialität in st. Rspr. fest. Gleiches gilt für die hL. Damit beschränkt sich die Prüfung einer fremdstaatlichen Enteignung auf die Belegenheit des enteigneten Vermögenswertes...