Abstract
This article begins by introducing the basic economic framework for studying litigation and out-of-court settlement. One set of issues addressed is positive (or descriptive) in nature. Under what conditions will someone decide to file suit? When do cases settle out of court? Normative issues are also addressed. Are these private litigation decisions in the interest of society more broadly? Next, the article surveys some of the more active areas in the litigation literature including rules of evidence, loser-pays rules, appeals, contingent fees for attorneys, alternative dispute resolution, class actions, and plea bargaining.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Bibliography
Aghion, P., and P. Bolton. 1987. Contracts as a barrier to entry. American Economic Review 77: 388–401.
Bebchuk, L. 1984. Litigation and settlement under imperfect information. RAND Journal of Economics 15: 404–415.
Bebchuk, L. 1988. Suing solely to extract a settlement offer. The Journal of Legal Studies 17: 437–450.
Bebchuk, L. 1996. A new theory concerning the credibility and success of threats to sue. The Journal of Legal Studies 25: 1–25.
Bebchuk, L., and H. Chang. 1999. The effect of offer-of-settlement rules on the terms of settlement. The Journal of Legal Studies 28: 489–513.
Bebchuk, L., and A. Guzman. 1996. How would you like to pay for that? The strategic effects of fee arrangements on settlement terms. Harvard Negotiation Law Review 1: 3–63.
Bernardo, A., E. Talley, and I. Welch. 2000. A theory of legal presumptions. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 16: 1–49.
Braeutigam, R., B. Owen, and J. Panzar. 1984. An economic analysis of alternative fee shifting systems. Law and Contemporary Problems 47: 173–204.
Chang, H.F., and H. Sigman. 2000. Incentives to settle under joint and several liability: An empirical analysis of superfund litigation. The Journal of Legal Studies 24: 205–236.
Che, Y.-K. 1996. Equilibrium formation of class action suits. Journal of Public Economics 62: 339–361.
Che, Y.-K. 2002. The economics of collective negotiations in pretrial bargaining. International Economic Review 43: 549–576.
Che, Y.-K., and J.G. Yi. 1993. The role of precedents in repeated litigation. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 9: 399–424.
Chen, K.-P., H.-K. Chien, and C.Y.C. Chu. 1997. Sequential versus unitary trials with asymmetric information. The Journal of Legal Studies 26: 239–258.
Cho, I.-K., and D. Kreps. 1987. Signalling games and stable equilibria. Quarterly Journal of Economics 102: 179–221.
Choi, J.P. 1998. Patent litigation as an information-transmission mechanism. American Economic Review 88: 1249–1263.
Choi, A.H., and C.W. Sanchirico. 2004. Should plaintiffs win what defendants lose? Litigation stakes, litigation effort, and the benefits of decoupling. The Journal of Legal Studies 33: 323–354.
Cooter, R., and D. Rubinfeld. 1989. Economic analysis of legal disputes and their resolution. Journal of Economic Literature 27: 1067–1097.
Cooter, R., and D. Rubinfeld. 1994. An economic model of legal discovery. The Journal of Legal Studies 23: 435–464.
Cooter, R., L. Kornhauser, and D. Lane. 1979. Liability rules, limited information, and the role of precedent. Bell Journal of Economics 10: 366–373.
Dana, J., and K. Spier. 1993. Expertise and contingent fees: The role of asymmetric information in attorney compensation. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 9: 349–367.
Danzon, P. 1983. Contingent fees for personal injury litigation. Bell Journal of Economics 14: 213–223.
Danzon, P., and L. Lillard. 1983. Settlement out of court: The disposition of medical malpractice claims. The Journal of Legal Studies 12: 345–378.
Daughety, A. 2000. Settlement. In Encyclopedia of law and economics, ed. B. Bouckaert and G. De Geest, Vol. 5. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 1994. Settlement negotiations with two-sided asymmetric information: Model duality, information distribution, and efficiency. International Review of Law and Economics 14: 283–298.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 1999a. Hush money. RAND Journal of Economics 30: 661–678.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 1999b. Stampede to judgment: Persuasive influence and herding behavior by courts. American Law and Economics Review 1: 158–189.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2000a. Appealing judgments. RAND Journal of Economics 31: 502–525.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2000b. On the economics of trials: Adversarial process, evidence, and equilibrium bias. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 16: 365–394.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2002. Information externalities in settlement bargaining: Confidentiality and correlated culpability. RAND Journal of Economics 334: 587–604.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2003. Found money? Split-award statutes and settlement of punitive damages cases. American Law and Economics Review 5: 134–164.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2004. Exploiting future settlements: A signaling model of most-favored-nation clauses in settlement bargaining. RAND Journal of Economics 35: 467–485.
Daughety, A., and J. Reinganum. 2005. Secrecy and safety. American Economic Review 95: 1074–1091.
Demougin, D., and C. Fluet. 2006. Preponderance of evidence. European Economic Review 50: 963–976.
Dewatripont, M., and J. Tirole. 1999. Advocates. Journal of Political Economy 107: 1–39.
Dixit, A. 1987. Strategic behavior in contests. American Economic Review 77: 891–898.
Farber, H., and M. White. 1991. Medical malpractice: An empirical examination of the litigation process. RAND Journal of Economics 22: 199–217.
Farmer, A., and P. Pecorino. 2000. Conditional cost shifting and the incidence of trial: Pretrial bargaining in the face of a Rule 68 offer. American Law and Economics Review 2: 318–340.
Froeb, L., and B. Kobayashi. 1996. Naive, biased, yet Bayesian: Can juries interpret selectively produced evidence? Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 12: 257–276.
Gennaioli, N., and A. Shleifer. 2005. The evolution of precedent. Working paper no. 11265. Cambridge: NBER.
Gould, J. 1973. The economics of legal conflicts. The Journal of Legal Studies 2: 279–300.
Grossman, S. 1981. The informational role of warranties and private disclosure about product quality. Journal of Law and Economics 24: 461–483.
Grossman, G., and M. Katz. 1983. Plea bargaining and social welfare. American Economic Review 73: 749–757.
Hause, J. 1989. Indemnity, settlement, and litigation, or ‘I’ll be suing you’. The Journal of Legal Studies 18: 157–180.
Hay, B. 1994. Civil discovery: Its effects and optimal scope. The Journal of Legal Studies 23: 481–517.
Hay, B. 1997. Optimal contingent fees in a world of settlement. The Journal of Legal Studies 26: 259–278.
Hay, B., and K. Spier. 1997. Burdens of proof in civil litigation. The Journal of Legal Studies 26: 413–433.
Hay, B., and K. Spier. 1998. Settlement of litigation. In The new Palgrave dictionary of economics and the law, ed. P. Newman. London: Macmillan.
Helland, E., and A. Tabarrok. 2003. Contingency fees, settlement delay, and lowquality litigation: Empirical evidence from two datasets. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 19: 517–542.
Hua, X., and K. Spier. 2005. Information and externalities in sequential litigation. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 161: 215–232.
Kahan, M., and B. Tuckman. 1995. Special levies for punitive damages. International Review of Law and Economics 15: 175–185.
Kaplow, L. 1993. Shifting plaintiffs’ fees versus increasing damage awards. RAND Journal of Economics 24: 625–630.
Kaplow, L., and S. Shavell. 1992. Private versus socially optimal provision of ex-ante legal advice. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 8: 306–320.
Kaplow, L., and S. Shavell. 1996. Accuracy in the assessment of damages. Journal of Law and Economics 39: 191–209.
Katz, A. 1987. Measuring the demand for litigation: Is the English Rule really cheaper? Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 3: 143–176.
Katz, A. 1990. The effect of frivolous lawsuits on the settlement of litigation. International Review of Law and Economics 10: 3–27.
Klement, A., and Z. Neeman. 2004. Incentive structures for class action lawyers. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 20: 102–124.
Kornhauser, L. 1992. Modeling collegial courts, 2: Legal doctrine. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 8: 441–470.
Kornhauser, L., and R. Revesz. 1994. Multidefendant settlements: The impact of joint and several liability. The Journal of Legal Studies 23: 41–76.
Landes, W. 1971. An economic analysis of the courts. Journal of Law and Economics 14: 61–107.
Landes, W. 1993. Sequential versus unitary trials: An economic analysis. The Journal of Legal Studies 22: 99–134.
Landes, W., and R. Posner. 1976. Legal precedents: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Law and Economics 19: 249–307.
Lanjouw, J., and M. Schankerman. 2001. Characteristics of patent litigation: A window on competition. RAND Journal of Economics 32: 129–151.
Levy, G. 2005. Careerist judges. RAND Journal of Economics 36: 275–297.
Loewenstein, G., S. Issacharoff, C. Camerer, and L. Babcock. 1993. Self-serving assessments of fairness and pretrial bargaining. The Journal of Legal Studies 22: 135–158.
Marshall, R., M. Meurer, and J. Richard. 1994. Litigation settlement and collusion. Quarterly Journal of Economics 109: 211–239.
Meurer, M. 1989. The settlement of patent litigation. RAND Journal of Economics 20: 77–91.
Meurer, M. 1992. The gains from faith in an unfaithful agent: Settlement conflict between defendants and liability insurer. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 8: 502–522.
Milgrom, P., and J. Roberts. 1986. Relying on the information of interested parties. RAND Journal of Economics 17: 18–32.
Miller, G. 1986. An economic analysis of Rule 68. The Journal of Legal Studies 15: 93–125.
Miller, G. 1987. Some agency problems in settlement. The Journal of Legal Studies 161: 189–215.
Mnookin, R. 1998. Alternative dispute resolution. In The new Palgrave dictionary of economics and the law, ed. P. Newman. London: Macmillan.
Myerson, R., and M. Satterthwaite. 1983. Efficient mechanisms for bilateral trading. Journal of Economic Theory 29: 265–281.
Nalebuff, B. 1987. Credible pretrial negotiation. RAND Journal of Economics 18: 198–210.
Ostrom, B., N. Kauder, and R. LaFountain. 2001. Examining the work of the state courts, 1999–2000. Williamsburg: National Center for State Courts.
P’ng, I.P.L. 1983. Strategic behavior in suit, settlement, and trial. RAND Journal of Economics 14: 539–550.
Parisi, F. 2002. Rent seeking through litigation: Adversarial and inquisitorial systems compared. International Review of Law and Economics 22: 193–216.
Polinsky, A., and Y.-K. Che. 1991. Decoupling liability: Optimal incentives for care and litigation. RAND Journal of Economics 22: 562–570.
Polinsky, A., and D. Rubinfeld. 1988. The deterrent effects of settlements and trials. International Review of Law and Economics 8: 109–116.
Polinsky, A., and D. Rubinfeld. 1998. Does the English Rule discourage lowprobability- of-prevailing plaintiffs? The Journal of Legal Studies 27: 519–535.
Posner, R. 1973. An economic approach to legal procedure and judicial administration. The Journal of Legal Studies 2: 399–458.
Priest, G., and B. Klein. 1984. The selection of disputes for litigation. The Journal of Legal Studies 13: 1–55.
Rasmusen, E. 1994. Judicial legitimacy as a repeated game. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 10: 63–83.
Reinganum, J. 1988. Plea bargaining and prosecutorial discretion. American Economic Review 78: 713–728.
Reinganum, J. 2000. Sentencing guidelines, judicial discretion, and plea bargaining. RAND Journal of Economics 31: 62–81.
Reinganum, J., and L. Wilde. 1986. Settlement, litigation, and the allocation of litigation costs. RAND Journal of Economics 17: 557–568.
Rosenberg, D., and S. Shavell. 1985. A model in which lawsuits are brought for their nuisance value. International Review of Law and Economics 5: 3–13.
Rubinfeld, D., and D. Sappington. 1987. Efficient awards and standards of proof in judicial proceedings. RAND Journal of Economics 18: 308–315.
Rubinfeld, D., and S. Scotchmer. 1993. Contingent fees for attorneys: An economic analysis. RAND Journal of Economics 24: 343–356.
Sanchirico, C. 1997. The burden of proof in civil litigation: A simple model of mechanism design. International Review of Law and Economics 17: 431–447.
Santore, R., and A.D. Viard. 2001. Legal fee restrictions, moral hazard, and attorney rights. Journal of Law and Economics 44: 549–572.
Schrag, J. 1999. Managerial judges: An economic analysis of the judicial management of legal discovery. RAND Journal of Economics 30: 305–323.
Schwartz, E. 1992. Policy, precedent, and power: A positive theory of supreme-court decision making. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 8: 219–252.
Schweizer, U. 1989. Litigation and settlement under two sided incomplete information. Review of Economic Studies 56: 163–177.
Shapiro, C. 2003. Antitrust limits to patent settlements. RAND Journal of Economics 34: 391–411.
Shavell, S. 1982a. Suit, settlement and trial: A theoretical analysis under alternative methods for the allocation of legal costs. The Journal of Legal Studies 11: 55–82.
Shavell, S. 1982b. The social versus the private incentive to bring suit in a costly legal system. The Journal of Legal Studies 11: 333–339.
Shavell, S. 1989. The sharing of information prior to settlement or litigation. RAND Journal of Economics 20: 183–195.
Shavell, S. 1993. Suit versus settlement when parties seek nonmonetary judgments. The Journal of Legal Studies 22: 1–14.
Shavell, S. 1994. Alternative dispute resolution: An economic analysis. The Journal of Legal Studies 24: 1–28.
Shavell, S. 1995. The appeals process as a means of error correction. The Journal of Legal Studies 24: 379–426.
Shavell, S. 1996. Any probability of plaintiff victory at trial is possible. The Journal of Legal Studies 25: 493–501.
Shavell, S. 1997. The fundamental divergence between the private and the social motive to use the legal system. The Journal of Legal Studies 26: 575–613.
Shepherd, G. 1999. An empirical study of the effects of pretrial discovery. International Review of Law and Economics 19: 245–263.
Shin, H. 1998. Adversarial and inquisitorial procedures in arbitration. RAND Journal of Economics 29: 378–405.
Spier, K. 1992. The dynamics of pretrial negotiation. Review of Economic Studies 59: 93–108.
Spier, K. 1994a. Pretrial bargaining and the design of fee-shifting rules. RAND Journal of Economics 25: 197–214.
Spier, K. 1994b. Settlement bargaining and the design of damage awards. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 10: 84–95.
Spier, K. 1997. A note on the divergence between the private and social motive to settle under a negligence rule. The Journal of Legal Studies 26: 613–623.
Spier, K. 2003a. The use of most-favored-nation clauses in settlement of litigation. RAND Journal of Economics 34: 78–95.
Spier, K. 2003b. Tied to the mast: Most-favored-nation clauses in settlement contracts. The Journal of Legal Studies 32: 91–120.
Spier, K. 2005. Litigation. In The handbook of law and economics, ed. A. Mitchell Polinsky and S. Shavell. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Spier, K., and A. Sykes. 1998. Capital structure, priority rules, and the settlement of civil claims. International Review of Law and Economics 18: 187–200.
Spitzer, M., and E. Talley. 2000. Judicial auditing. The Journal of Legal Studies 24: 649–683.
Spurr, S. 1991. An economic analysis of collateral estoppel. International Review of Law and Economics 11: 47–61.
Sykes, A. 1994. ‘Bad faith’ refusal to settle by liability insurers: Some implications of the judgment-proof problem. The Journal of Legal Studies 23: 77–110.
Waldfogel, J. 1995. The selection hypothesis and the relationship between trial and plaintiff victory. Journal of Political Economy 103: 229–260.
White, M. 2002. Explaining the flood of asbestos litigation: Consolidation, bifurcation, and bouquet trials. Working paper no. 9362. Cambridge: NBER.
Yoon, A. 2004. Mandatory arbitration and civil litigation: An empirical study of medical malpractice litigation in the west. American Law and Economics Review 6: 95–134.
Acknowledgment
The author thanks the Searle Fund for financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2008 The Author(s)
About this entry
Cite this entry
Spier, K.E. (2008). Litigation, Economics of. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2492-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2492-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences