Institute for Civil Justice (U.S.)

Insurance class actions in the United States ( Book )
6 editions published in 2007 in English and held by 653 libraries worldwide
Of methodological approach -- Survey results -- Issues related to regulation.

The economic burden of providing health insurance how much worse off are small firms by Christine Eibner ( Book )
4 editions published in 2008 in English and held by 593 libraries worldwide
More than 60 percent of nonelderly Americans receive health-insurance (HI) coverage through employers, either as policyholders or as dependents. However, rising health-care costs are leading many to question the long-term viability of the employer-based insurance system. Concerns about the economic burden of providing HI are particularly acute for small businesses, which are both less likely than larger firms to offer HI and more sensitive to price when deciding to offer insurance. Small firms may have difficulty containing costs due to their limited bargaining power and their inability to hir.

Class action dilemmas : pursuing public goals for private gain ( Book )
3 editions published in 2000 in English and held by 507 libraries worldwide
Class action lawsuits--allowing one or a few plaintiffs to represent many who seek redress--have long been controversial. The current controversy, centered on lawsuits for money damages, is characterized by sharp disagreement among stakeholders about the kinds of suits being filed, whether plaintiffs' claims are meritorious, and whether resolutions to class actions are fair or socially desirable. Ultimately, these concerns lead many to wonder, Are class actions worth their costs to society and to business? Do they do more harm than good? To describe the landscape of current damage class action litigation, elucidate problems, and identify solutions, the RAND Institute for Civil Justice conducted a study using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The researchers concluded that the controversy over damage class actions has proven intractable because it implicates deeply held but sharply contested ideological views among stakeholders. Nevertheless, many of the political antagonists agree that class action practices merit improvement. The authors argue that both practices and outcomes could be substantially improved if more judges would supervise class action litigation more actively and scrutinize proposed settlements and fee awards more carefully. Educating and empowering judges to take more responsibility for case outcomes--and ensuring that they have the resources to do so--can help the civil justice system achieve a better balance between the public goals of class actions and the private interests that drive them.

Just, speedy, and inexpensive? : an evaluation of judicial case management under the Civil Justice Reform Act ( Book )
2 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 378 libraries worldwide
The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) required each federal district court to develop a case management plan to reduce costs and delay. The legislation also created a pilot program to test six principles of case management, and required an independent evaluation to assess their effects. This executive summary provides an overview of the purpose of the CJRA, the basic design of the evaluation, the key findings, and their policy implications. Detailed results appear in three other reports: MR-801-ICJ, which traces the stages in the implementation of the CJRA in the study districts; MR-802-ICJ, which presents the main descriptive and statistical evaluation of how the CJRA case management principles implemented in the study districts affected cost, time to disposition, and participants' satisfaction and views of fairness; and MR-803-ICJ, which describes the results of an evaluation of mediation and neutral evaluation designed to supplement the alternative dispute resolution assessment contained in the main CJRA evaluation.

An evaluation of mediation and early neutral evaluation under the Civil Justice Reform Act ( Book )
3 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 374 libraries worldwide
The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) required each federal district court to develop a case management plan to reduce costs and delay. The legislation also created a pilot program to test six principles of case management, and required an independent evaluation to assess their effects. This report is one of four documents describing the evaluation, which was conducted by RAND's Institute for Civil Justice. The report describes an assessment of the effects of six different alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs that included mediation and early neutral evaluation. The study found that, once litigation had begun, referral to ADR was not a panacea, nor was it detrimental. Neither time nor costs nor lawyer views of satisfaction or fairness changed significantly as a result of referral to any of these programs; however, lawyers and litigants who participated in the programs liked them. The only statistically significant finding was that cases referred to ADR were more likely to have a monetary outcome. See also MR-800-ICJ, MR-801-ICJ, and MR-802-ICJ.

Implementation of the Civil Justice Reform Act in pilot and comparison districts ( Book )
2 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 368 libraries worldwide
The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) required each federal district court to develop a case management plan to reduce costs and delay. The legislation also created a pilot program to test six principles of case management, and required an independent evaluation to assess their effects. This report is one of four documents describing the evaluation, which was conducted by RAND's Institute for Civil Justice. The report traces the stages in the CJRA implementation: the recommendations of the advisory groups, the plans adopted by the districts, and the plans actually implemented. The study found that all pilot districts complied with the statutory language of the act. But the amount of change varied widely, and in some districts, planned changes were not fully implemented. However, implementing the pilot plans may have heightened the consciousness of judges and lawyers and brought about some important implicit shifts in their approach to case management. See also MR-800-ICJ, MR-802-ICJ, and MR-803-ICJ.

An evaluation of judicial case management under the Civil Justice Reform Act ( Book )
2 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 365 libraries worldwide
The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) required each federal district court to develop a case management plan to reduce costs and delay. The legislation also created a pilot program to test six principles of case management, and required an independent evaluation to assess their effects. This report is one of four documents describing the evaluation, which was conducted by RAND's Institute for Civil Justice. The report describes the effects of the CJRA case management principles on time to disposition, costs, and participants' satisfaction and views of fairness. The study found that the CJRA's package of case management policies, as implemented, had little effect on any of these outcomes. However, what judges do to manage cases does matter. A package of procedures containing early judicial management, early setting of a trial date, and shorter time to discovery cutoff could reduce time to disposition by 30 percent, with no change in litigation costs, satisfaction, or perceived fairness. See also MR-800-ICJ, MR-801-ICJ, and MR-803-ICJ.

Trends in civil jury verdicts since 1985 by Erik Moller ( Book )
3 editions published in 1996 in English and held by 345 libraries worldwide
This report describes all civil jury verdicts reached from 1985 to 1994 in the state courts of general jurisdiction in 15 jurisdictions across the nation and identifies trends in these verdicts. Several descriptive measures are used, including number of verdicts, number of verdicts within different case types, percentage of cases in which the plaintiff is successful, award amounts (typical, maximum, and expected awards), variation in awards, and the occurrence and size of punitive damage awards. The study finds that trial rates are generally flat or decreasing; case mix has not changed significantly in the past ten years; award amounts are generally increasing; and punitive damage awards are rare, but their amounts increased dramatically between 1985-1989 and 1990-1994. Jury verdicts can provide valuable information about the signals that attorneys and potential claimants receive from the civil justice system, but it is cautioned that they reveal little about the underlying dynamics of jury behavior.

Asbestos in the courts : the challenge of mass toxic torts ( Book )
2 editions published in 1985 in English and held by 317 libraries worldwide
This report presents the results of a study of how the civil justice system has dealt with the challenges presented by asbestos litigation. Its sections describe (1) the characteristics of asbestos litigation, both at the individual case level and at the aggregate level; (2) the way in which the court system has approached the three critical tasks of litigation--substantive decisionmaking, preparing cases for trial, and disposing of cases; and (3) the implications of the findings. Based on their observations of the asbestos litigation process, the authors review the strengths and weaknesses of the tort system as a mechanism for resolving mass toxic torts, consider changes that might strengthen the system, and suggest a mechanism for formulating new policies.

Designing safer products : corporate responses to product liability law and regulation by George C Eads ( Book )
4 editions published between 1983 and 1985 in English and held by 282 libraries worldwide
Analyzes ways in which firms have responded to recent changes in pressures to design safer products, using interviews with product safety officials in major manufacturers and extensive analysis of legal and scholarly literatures. Shifts to strict liability and more stringent regulation during the last 15 years have increased pressure to invest in safety assurance procedures, as evidenced by creation of new corporate product safety units. Regulation has been of more questionable effectiveness than has strict liability in inducing better design practices. Argues that federal product liability legislation will have marginal effect, despite the current variation in state law on the matter. Discusses the factors that influence the effectiveness of corporate product safety units and suggests that combining product safety with quality assurance may be the optimal strategy for a firm.