The second edition of this casebook treats the subject of aggregate litigation as a coherent whole. The new authors have preserved the original focus while updating, revising and enriching the discussions of particular topics. The materials on class actions have been tightened and reorganized, reflecting recent judicial decisions that have made class actions harder to certify, and the materials on other procedural devices, including consolidations and arbitration, have been strengthened. The discussions contain more information about litigation strategies, judicial practices, financial considerations, and empirical findings. As before, this book fills three gaps in the market for teaching materials on the U.S. civil justice system. First, it establishes aggregate litigation as a cohesive field of procedural law, one that encompasses all devices for processing claims en masse, including class actions, multi-district litigations and other forms of consolidation, aggregate settlements, parens patriae lawsuits, bankruptcy reorganizations, and private arbitrations. Second, the casebook confronts forthrightly the reality of our civil justice system as one geared toward settlement, not the rare event of trial. From this vantage point, the casebook sees the processes for aggregate litigation as vehicles through which to achieve comprehensive, or broadly encompassing, resolution of related civil claims. Third, the casebook frames the legitimacy of preclusion in aggregate litigation by drawing, among other things, on aspects of private contract and public legislation. In so doing, the casebook encourages students to see cross-cutting connections with their other courses on such topics as contracts, corporations, and administrative law.

The third edition of this casebook reflects the many developments that have occurred in aggregate litigation since 2013 while continuing to treat the subject as a coherent whole. This edition includes a short, systematic introduction to the range of different aggregation techniques and then pays detailed attention to class actions, multidistrict litigation (MDL), parens-patriae suits, bankruptcy, and arbitration. In particular, this edition features a new chapter devoted to MDL, in which topics range from selecting the transferee court, choosing what law should apply, and exploring the judicial role in examining MDL's effect on settlement and leadership selection. As before, the casebook does more than just present the law--it considers multiple perspectives on policy, litigation strategy, judicial practice, financial considerations, and empirical findings. The book fills three gaps in the market for teaching materials on the U.S. civil justice system. First, it treats "aggregate litigation" as a cohesive field of law that encompasses all devices for processing claims en masse. Second, the book confronts forthrightly the reality of our civil justice system as one geared toward settlement, not trial. From this vantage point, the casebook sees the processes for aggregate litigation as vehicles through which to achieve comprehensive, or broadly encompassing, resolution of related civil claims. Third, the book frames the legitimacy of preclusion in aggregate litigation by drawing, among other things, on conceptions of legitimacy in other settings, such as private contract and public legislation. In so doing, the casebook encourages students to see cross-cutting connections with their other courses on such topics as contracts, corporations, and administrative law.

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.

Since the 1960s, the class action lawsuit has been a powerful tool for holding businesses accountable. Yet years of attacks by corporate America and unfavorable rulings by the Supreme Court have left its future uncertain. In this book, Brian T. Fitzpatrick makes the case for the importance of class action litigation from a surprising political perspective: an unabashedly conservative point of view. Conservatives have opposed class actions in recent years, but Fitzpatrick argues that they should see such litigation not as a danger to the economy, but as a form of private enforcement of the law. He starts from the premise that all of us, conservatives and libertarians included, believe that markets need at least some rules to thrive, from laws that enforce contracts to laws that prevent companies from committing fraud. He also reminds us that conservatives consider the private sector to be superior to the government in most areas. And the relatively little-discussed intersection of those two beliefs is where the benefits of class action lawsuits become clear: when corporations commit misdeeds, class action lawsuits enlist the private sector to intervene, resulting in a smaller role for the government, lower taxes, and, ultimately, more effective solutions. Offering a novel argument that will surprise partisans on all sides, The Conservative Case for Class Actions is sure to breathe new life into this long-running debate.