In class actions, attorneys effectively hire clients rather than act as their agent. Lawyer-financed, lawyer-controlled, and lawyer-settled, this entrepreneurial litigation invites lawyers to act in their own interest. John Coffee’s goal is to save class action, not discard it, and to make private enforcement of law more democratically accountable.

Presenting twenty-two years of multidistrict litigation data, this book exposes a systematic lack of checks and balances in our courts.

This book first addresses substantive issues, beginning with the changing role of business torts in antitrust litigation and continuing with the extent to which antitrust concepts have been invoked in business tort litigation (focusing on the competitive privilege and the Noerr-Pennington defense). The next chapter surveys the field of unfair competition, followed by an examination of the business torts of commercial disparagement and defamation. Subsequent chapters address interference torts, the common law and statutory torts of fraud and negligent misrepresentation, the field of misappropriation of trade secrets, and recent developments in the area of punitive damages.

A less-expensive grayscale paperback version is available. Search for ISBN 9781680923018. Business Law I Essentials is a brief introductory textbook designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of courses on Business Law or the Legal Environment of Business. The concepts are presented in a streamlined manner, and cover the key concepts necessary to establish a strong foundation in the subject. The textbook follows a traditional approach to the study of business law. Each chapter contains learning objectives, explanatory narrative and concepts, references for further reading, and end-of-chapter questions. Business Law I Essentials may need to be supplemented with additional content, cases, or related materials, and is offered as a foundational resource that focuses on the baseline concepts, issues, and approaches.