Skip to Main Content

Mass Torts in a World of Settlement

Online ISBN:
9780226567624
Print ISBN:
9780226567600
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
Book

Mass Torts in a World of Settlement

Richard A. Nagareda
Richard A. Nagareda
Find on
Published online:
21 March 2013
Published in print:
1 October 2007
Online ISBN:
9780226567624
Print ISBN:
9780226567600
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press

Abstract

The traditional definition of torts involves bizarre, idiosyncratic events where a single plaintiff with a physical impairment sues the specific defendant he believes to have wrongfully caused that malady. Yet public attention has focused increasingly on mass personal-injury lawsuits over asbestos, cigarettes, guns, the diet drug fen-phen, breast implants, and, most recently, Vioxx. This book attempts to analyze the lawyer's role in this world of high-stakes, multibillion-dollar litigation. These mass settlements, the book argues, have transformed the legal system so acutely that rival teams of lawyers operate as sophisticated governing powers rather than as litigators. This book's solution is the replacement of the existing tort system with a private administrative framework to address both current and future claims.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close