Book contents
- Mass Tort Deals
- Mass Tort Deals
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 When Mass Torts Meet Multidistrict Litigation
- 2 Quid Pro Quo Arrangements?
- 3 The Rise of Repeat Players
- 4 Judges as Bulwarks and Nudgers
- 5 When Multidistrict Litigation Settles into “Alternative Dispute Resolution”
- 6 Reforming Multidistrict Litigation
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Index
6 - Reforming Multidistrict Litigation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 May 2019
- Mass Tort Deals
- Mass Tort Deals
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 When Mass Torts Meet Multidistrict Litigation
- 2 Quid Pro Quo Arrangements?
- 3 The Rise of Repeat Players
- 4 Judges as Bulwarks and Nudgers
- 5 When Multidistrict Litigation Settles into “Alternative Dispute Resolution”
- 6 Reforming Multidistrict Litigation
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Index
Summary
Our system needs a makeover, and this chapter uses basic economic and social principles as the bedrock of reform. It builds opportunities for dissent and competition into the fabric of multidistrict proceedings and incentivizes lawyers to use them. But doing so relies on judges. Educating judges and encouraging them to select leaders using a competitive process, tying leaders’ fees to the benefits they confer on plaintiffs, opening the courthouse doors to hear about those benefits (or not) directly from the plaintiffs, and remanding those litigants who don’t want to settle can allow the vibrant rivalries within the plaintiffs’ bar to see to it that dissent and competition flourish. As attorneys object and compete, they are likely to divulge new information, thereby equipping judges with pieces of the puzzle that they currently lack. In short, this chapter explains how arming judges with procedures that better align plaintiffs’ attorneys’ self-interest with their clients’ best interest equips courts to hold parties accountable even without legislation or rulemaking.
Keywords
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- Information
- Mass Tort DealsBackroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation, pp. 167 - 213Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019