The Conservative Case for Class Actions / Brian T. Fitzpatrick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

FitzPatrick, Brian T., Author.

Series:

Chicago scholarship online.

Chicago scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Class actions (Civil procedure)--United States.

Class actions (Civil procedure).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (283 pages) : illustrations, charts

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Since the 1960s, the class action lawsuit has been a powerful tool for holding businesses accountable. Yet years of attacks by corporate America and unfavorable rulings by the Supreme Court have left its future uncertain. In this book, Brian T. Fitzpatrick makes the case for the importance of class action litigation from a surprising political perspective: an unabashedly conservative point of view. Conservatives have opposed class actions in recent years, but Fitzpatrick argues that they should see such litigation not as a danger to the economy, but as a form of private enforcement of the law. He starts from the premise that all of us, conservatives and libertarians included, believe that markets need at least some rules to thrive, from laws that enforce contracts to laws that prevent companies from committing fraud. He also reminds us that conservatives consider the private sector to be superior to the government in most areas. And the relatively little-discussed intersection of those two beliefs is where the benefits of class action lawsuits become clear: when corporations commit misdeeds, class action lawsuits enlist the private sector to intervene, resulting in a smaller role for the government, lower taxes, and, ultimately, more effective solutions. Offering a novel argument that will surprise partisans on all sides, The Conservative Case for Class Actions is sure to breathe new life into this long-running debate.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Ironic History of Class Actions

Chapter 2. The Conservative Case for Regulation

Chapter 3. The Conservative Case for Private Enforcement

Chapter 4. The Conservative Case against Private Enforcement

Chapter 5. Why Private Enforcement Needs Class Actions

Chapter 6. Are Class Actions Meritless?

Chapter 7. Do Class Action Lawyers Get All the Money?

Chapter 8. Do Class Actions Deter Wrongdoing?

Chapter 9. The Conservative Class Action

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Feb 2020)

ISBN:

9780226659473

022665947X

OCLC:

1124607479