Mass tort deals : backroom bargaining in multidistrict litigation / Elizabeth Chamblee Burch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burch, Elizabeth Chamblee, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Complex litigation--United States.

Complex litigation.

United States.

Torts--United States.

Torts.

Negotiation in business--United States.

Negotiation in business.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 277 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

Mass-tort lawsuits over products like pelvic and hernia mesh, Roundup, opioids, talcum powder, and hip implants consume a substantial part of the federal civil caseload. But multidistrict litigation, which federal courts use to package these individual tort suits into one proceeding, has not been extensively analyzed. In Mass Tort Deals, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch marshals a wide array of empirical data to suggest that a systematic lack of checks and balances in our courts may benefit everyone but the plaintiffs - the very people who are often unable to stand up for themselves. Rather than faithfully representing them, plaintiffs' lawyers may sell them out in backroom settlements that compensate lawyers handsomely, pay plaintiffs little, and deny them the justice they seek. From diagnosis to reforms, Burch's goal isn't to eliminate these suits; it's to save them. This book is a must read for concerned citizens, policymakers, lawyers, and judges alike.

Contents:

Introduction

When mass torts meet multidistrict litigation

Quid-pro-quo arrangements?

The rise of repeat players

Judges as bulwarks and nudgers

When MDK settles into "ADR"

Reforming multidistrict litigation

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 17 May 2019).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781108255929

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.