Exploiting Plaintiffs Through Settlement

Exploiting Plaintiffs Through Settlement
Author: Yeon-Koo Che
Publisher:
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2007
Genre: Compromise (Law)
ISBN:

"This paper considers settlement negotiations between a single defendant and N plaintiffs when there are fixed costs of litigation. When making simultaneous take-it-or-leave-it offers to the plaintiffs, the defendant adopts a divide and conquer strategy. Plaintiffs settle their claims for less than they are jointly worth. The problem is worse when N is larger, the offers are sequential, and the plaintiffs make offers instead. Although dividend conquer strategies dilute the defendant's incentives, they increase the settlement rate and reduce litigation spending. Plaintiffs can raise their joint payoff through transfer payments, voting rules, and covenants not to accept discriminatory offers"--Preface

Plaintiffs Exploiting Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs Exploiting Plaintiffs
Author: Alexander Stremitzer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 13
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

We consider a model of a single defendant and N plaintiffs where the total cost of litigation is fixed on the part of the plaintiffs and shared among the members of a suing coalition. By settling and dropping out of the coalition, a plaintiff therefore creates a negative externality on the other plaintiffs. It was shown in Che and Spier (2007) that failure to internalize this externality can often be exploited by the defendant. However, if plaintiffs make sequential take-it-or-leave-it settlement offers, we can show that they will actually be exploited by one of their fellow plaintiffs rather than by the defendant. Moreover, if litigation is a public good as is the case in shareholder derivative suits, parties may fail to reach a settlement even having complete information. This may explain why we observe derivative suits in the US but not in Europe.

Exploiting Future Settlements

Exploiting Future Settlements
Author: Andrew F. Daughety
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002
Genre:
ISBN:

"Most-favored-nation" (hereafter, MFN) clauses have been used in analyses of international trade, durable goods monopoly pricing, and franchise contracting to address a repeat player's time-inconsistency problem. Recent work by Spier (forthcoming and 2002) has extended this perspective to the settlements of litigation by (for example) one defendant with a collection of plaintiffs. We examine a different motivation for the use of MFNs in settlement bargaining. We argue that a non-repeat player can use an MFN to extend her reach into subsequent bargaining games. That is, an early-bargaining plaintiff can use an MFN to modify the subsequent bargaining game between the defendant and a later-bargaining plaintiff in a manner that improves the early plaintiff's payoff. Moreover, we will identify two routes through which this improvement is achieved. The obvious route is that, if the MFN is triggered by the later settlement, the early plaintiff receives an additional payment. The less obvious route is that the early plaintiff's incentives for information-revelation can be enhanced by the potential for a future payment, so that the defendant can resort to trial on a less-frequent basis. Using a signaling model, we find that the repeat player (the defendant) is indifferent about the MFN, while the later plaintiff is always worse off when an MFN constrains her settlement bargaining with the defendant. Although MFNs can never provide a Pareto improvement in this model, we demonstrate that plausible circumstances exist under which total surplus is increased by an MFN.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Author: American Bar Association. House of Delegates
Publisher: American Bar Association
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2007
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781590318737

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

Research Handbook on the Economics of Torts

Research Handbook on the Economics of Torts
Author: Jennifer Arlen
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 668
Release: 2013-11-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1781006172

Focusing on issues of vital importance to those seeking to understand and reform the tort system, this volume takes a multi-disciplinary approach, including theoretical economic analysis, empirical analysis, socio-economic analysis, and behavioral anal

The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics

The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics
Author: Francesco Parisi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2017-04-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0191507202

Covering over one-hundred topics on issues ranging from Law and Neuroeconomics to European Union Law and Economics to Feminist Theory and Law and Economics, The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics is the definitive work in the field of law and economics. The book gathers together scholars and experts in law and economics to create the most inclusive and current work on law and economics. Edited by Francisco Parisi, the Handbook looks at the origins of the field of law and economics, tracks its progression and increased importance to both law and economics, and looks to the future of the field and its continued development by examining a cornucopia of fields touched by work in law and economics. The uniqueness of its breadth, depth, and convenience make the volume essential to scholars, students, and contributors in the field of law and economics.

Confidentiality, Transparency, and the U.S. Civil Justice System

Confidentiality, Transparency, and the U.S. Civil Justice System
Author: Joseph W. Doherty
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2012-05-31
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199914338

The lawsuit is the cornerstone of the civil justice system in America, and an open court the foundation of American jurisprudence. Recently, however, more civil disputes have been resolved out of court and the outcomes kept secret. Some argue that the confidentiality of the system keeps it working efficiently and fairly; others argue that the public is being denied information about hazards that may cause harm and that a public system with no data lacks oversight. This book approaches the issue in a multidisciplinary, nonpartisan, and empirical manner.

Regulation through Litigation

Regulation through Litigation
Author: Kip W. Viscusi
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2004-05-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780815798859

Recent high-profile lawsuits involving cigarettes, guns, breast implants, and other products have created new frictions between litigation and regulation. Increasingly, litigation is being used as a financial lever to force companies to accept negotiated regulatory policies—policies that invariably involve less public input and accountability than those arising from government regulation. The process not only usurps the traditional governmental authority for regulation, but also shifts the locus of establishing tax policy from the legislature to the parties involved in the litigation. Citizen interests are not explicitly represented and there is no mechanism to ensure that these outcomes are in society's best interests. By focusing on case studies involving the tobacco industry, guns, lead paint, breast implants, and health maintenance organizations, the contributors to this volume collectively shed light on the likely consequences of regulation through litigation for insurance markets and society at large. They analyze the ramifications of large-scale lawsuits, mass torts, and class actions for the insurance market, and advocate increased public scrutiny of attorney reimbursement and a competitive bidding process for all lawsuits involving government entities as the plaintiffs.

Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes

Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes
Author: Richard A. Rosen
Publisher: Wolters Kluwer
Total Pages: 2486
Release: 2000-01-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 073551478X

With nearly all corporate disputes being resolved in settlements, drafting strong, enforceable settlement agreements is one of the most critical and challenging areas of corporate and commercial law practice today. Yet there has never been a single, comprehensive guide to the complex legal issues involved in negotiating, drafting and enforcing settlement agreements until Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes. Here, in two comprehensive volumes, including CD-Rom and forms, top experts offer insights gained from many years of litigation and dispute resolution experience to give you critical tools needed to prepare successful settlements: Sophisticated analysis of the law and its application Detailed planning of effective drafting techniques In-depth coverage of "hot issues," such as multi-party settlements and tax considerations Strategies for handling "special topics," such as tax and environmental concerns A time-saving library of model agreements on disk for a variety of disputes and jurisdictions Extensive case citations And much more Whether you are looking for the best way to handle a particularly troubling issue, or simply want to be sure you have anticipated every legal eventuality, Settlement Agreements in Commercial Disputes will give you the insights, information and guidance needed to prepare settlement agreements that meet your client's or company's objectives.

Attorney Accountability

Attorney Accountability
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
Publisher:
Total Pages: 300
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: