The efficiency of common law rules is central to achieving efficient resource allocation in a market economy. While many theories suggest reasons why judge-made law should tend toward efficient rules, the question whether the common law actually does converge in commercial areas has remained...

The efficiency of common law rules is central to achieving efficient resource allocation in a market economy. While many theories suggest reasons why judge-made law should tend toward efficient rules, the question whether the common law actually does converge in commercial areas has remained...

Many lawsuits characterized as anti-obesity litigation have little to do with and little or no effect on public policy on obesity. This paper classifies the different types of obesity lawsuits that have been filed to date, with particular attention to Pelman v. McDonald's, and argues that these...

Litigation finance is quickly becoming a centerpiece of our legal system. Once a dispute arises, litigants may seek money from third-party financiers to pay their legal bills or monetize their claims, and in turn those financiers receive a portion of any case proceeds. Yet policymakers are...

Litigation finance refers to investments in litigation by a third person not originally a party to the suit. Whether the country should embrace this new practice has sparked debate among the bar, on the Hill, in the press, and between scholars. We disagree with the premise of this debate;...

Unified administration of mass torts in centralized venues serves numerous functional, fairness, efficiency and consistency objectives. Requisite is the forum court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over the parties. Recent Supreme Court opinions concerning personal jurisdiction, culminating...

Basic economic analysis of litigation funding shows that risk neutral plaintiffs without budget constraints will not accept funding unless they are pessimistic relative to the funder. Risk aversion makes a plaintiff who shares probabilistic beliefs with the funder act observationally equivalent...

This chapter examines the basic model of the law and economics of litigation. Because the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Economics of the Litigation/Settlement decision are covered in separate chapters of this volume, this chapter will focus on private civil litigation, in particular the...

This report provides preliminary statistics for takeover litigation in 2014. Takeover litigation continued at a "steady state" and at an extremely high rate. Lawsuits were brought in 94.9% of takeovers in 2014 versus 39% in 2005. This is the fourth year in a row that the rate of litigation was...