Class Action Lawsuits and Lawyers

The final set comprises options targeted toward types of tort claims that have raised particular policy concerns, such as claims arising from medical malpractice or asbestos exposure and those litigated as class actions. In all three groups, most of the proposals can be seen as addressing one or more of the fundamental barriers to efficiency discussed in Chapter 3: The difficulty of giving both potential injurers and potential victims incentives to choose the efficient form and scale of their risk-related activities; The added difficulty of optimally distributing (insuring) the risks that remain after efficient precautions have been taken; and Problems relating to the cost and scarcity of information, including transaction costs, errors in judgments and in settlements, and inefficient standards for due care.
Other options respond to issues that arise from broader aspects of the legal system, such as the perceived problem that some locally elected judges are biased against out-of-state corporate defendants.


Options for Reducing the Scope of Tort Liability
The policy changes in this group--which involve replacing some or all types of tort liability with private or public insurance--generally go well beyond the kinds of proposals now being considered by the Congress.
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Attorneys and Legal Information

Tort Liability System (April 2002). .
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Attorneys and Legal Information

1 billion in disruption costs from bankruptcies and layoffs.(7) Are Tort Costs Excessive? Costs can be considered excessive if they do not contribute positively to either efficiency or equity.
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Class Action Lawsuits and Lawyers

S. tort law is based primarily on common law--in which judicial rules are developed on a case-by-case basis by trial judges--rather than on legislation. Tort liability is assigned using two basic standards: strict liability and negligence. Under strict liability, injurers are held fully liable for their victims' losses without regard for whether they were actually negligent or intended to harm anyone.
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