We analyze the design of legal principles and procedures for court decision-making in civil litigation. The objective is the provision of appropriate incentives for potential tort-feasors to exert care, when evidence about care is imperfect and may be distorted by the parties. Efficiency is...

To explore damage rules’ deterrent effect, we use a public good experiment to tailor allowable punishment to rules used in actual civil litigation. The experimental treatments are analogous to: (1) damages limited to harm to an individual litigant, (2) damages limited to harm to a group...

This paper analyzes the incentive properties of the standard and burden of proof for a finding of negligence, when evidence is imperfect and rests with the parties. We show that the preponderance of evidence' standard provides maximal incentives to exert care. This holds even though litigants...

Despite accounting for a significant fraction of total litigation in Italy, small claims litigation has so far received little attention. Using a Ministry of Justice database that contains information disaggregated by subject matter, the paper provides a thorough description of the time trend...

This study examines how disclosures impact lawyers' perceptions of independent auditors being sued for failure to detect fraud; specifically whether the auditor's opinion and disclosures required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 may be deemed to be red flags and deter litigation. A 3x1...

The primary conclusion from prior literature is that firm size, as a measure of firm resources and capacity to pay, is a key predictor of class action securities settlement amount, and the merits of the case are less important in settlement negotiations. The purpose of this study is to shed...

Fundamental choices are to be made when fashioning a system or combination of systems concerning multi-party and collective relief (see section II of this article). These include:economic access to justice (section III), opt-out 'class' litigation (notably the status of `representatives' suing...

This Article provides a financial economic analysis of punitive damages. The core problem, as the Supreme Court acknowledged in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, is not the systemic amount of punitive damages in the tort system; rather, it is the risk of outlier outcomes. Low frequency, high severity...

Over the past decade, the rise of online marketplaces such as Amazon.com has profoundly changed the retail landscape. The current pandemic has further accelerated consumers’ shift towards online buying in general and online marketplaces in particular. As a result, traditional distribution...

This paper analyzes the incentive properties of the standard and burden of proof for a finding of negligence, when evidence is imperfect and rests with the parties. We show that the "preponderance of evidence" standard provides maximal incentives to exert care. This holds even though litigants...