1932

Abstract

The economic analysis of procedure reduces most issues to direct costs and error costs. Direct costs are ordinary litigation costs. Error costs are the reduction in deterrence and the increase in chilling that result from inaccurate adjudication. The goal of procedure is the minimization of the sum of direct and error costs. This framework has been applied to many procedural issues, and this survey focuses on three: dispositive motions (motions to dismiss and summary judgment), discovery, and jurisdiction. Economic analysis has yielded significant insights in these areas, but important questions remain for future researchers. Because theory is often indeterminate, this survey discusses empirical as well as theoretical work, although, unfortunately, empirical work has focused on direct costs and has largely neglected error costs.

[Erratum, Closure]

An erratum has been published for this article:
The Economics of Civil Procedure
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030905
2015-11-03
2024-04-19
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lawsocsci/11/1/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030905.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030905&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. ACTL-IAALS 2008. Interim Report of the Joint Project of The American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. Denver, CO: ACTL-IAALS
  2. ACTL-IAALS 2009. Final Report of the Joint Project of the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System Denver, CO: ACTL-IAALS
  3. Am. Bar Assoc 2009. ABA Section of Litigation Member Survey of Civil Practice: Full Report Chicago: Am. Bar Assoc.
  4. Anderson J. 2015. Court competition for patent cases. Pa. Law Rev. 163:631–98 [Google Scholar]
  5. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby 477 U.S. 242 1986.
  6. Ashcroft v. Iqbal 556 U.S. 662 2009.
  7. Bebchuk LA. 1984. Litigation and settlement under imperfect information. RAND J. Econ. 15:404–15 [Google Scholar]
  8. Bell Atlantic v. Twombly 550 U.S. 544 2007.
  9. Bone RG. 2003. Civil Procedure: The Economics of Civil Procedure St. Paul: Foundation
  10. Brazil W. 1980a. Civil discovery: lawyer' views of its effectiveness, its principal problems and abuses. Am. Bar Found. Res. J. 4:787–902 [Google Scholar]
  11. Brazil W. 1980b. Views from the front lines: observations by Chicago lawyers about the system of civil discovery. Am. Bar Found. Res. J. 2:219–51 [Google Scholar]
  12. Buehler D. 2012. Jurisdictional incentives. George Mason Law Rev. 20:105–55 [Google Scholar]
  13. Campos SJ, Cotton C, Li C. 2015. Deterrence effects under Twombly: on the costs of increasing pleading standards in litigation. Int. Rev. Law Econ. In press
  14. Cecil JS. 2012. Of waves and water: a response to comments on the FJC study Motions to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim after Iqbal. http://ssrn.com/abstract=2026103
  15. Cecil JS, Cort GW, Williams MS, Bataillon JJ. 2011a. Motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim after Iqbal. Rep. Judic. Conf. Advis. Comm. Civ. Rules, Fed. Judic. Cent., Washington, DC
  16. Cecil JS, Cort GW, Williams MS, Bataillon JJ, Campbell JG. 2011b. Update on resolution of Rule 12(b)(6) motions granted with leave to amend Rep. Judic. Conf. Advis. Comm. Civ. Rules, Fed. Judic. Cent., Washington, DC [Google Scholar]
  17. Cecil JS, Eyre RN, Miletich D, Rindskopf D. 2007. A quarter-century of summary judgment practice in six federal districts. J. Empir. Legal Stud. 4:861–907 [Google Scholar]
  18. Celotex v. Catrett 477 U.S. 317 1978.
  19. Coffee JC. 1995. Class wars: the dilemma of the mass tort class action. Columbia Law Rev. 95:1343–465 [Google Scholar]
  20. Conley v. Gibson 355 U.S. 41 1957.
  21. Cooter RD, Rubinfeld DL. 1994. An economic model of legal discovery. J. Legal Stud. 23:435–63 [Google Scholar]
  22. Cooter RD, Rubinfeld DL. 1995. Reforming the new discovery rules. Georget. Law Rev. 84:61–89 [Google Scholar]
  23. Curry J, Ward M. 2013. Are Twombly and Iqbal affecting where plaintiffs file? A study comparing removal rates by state. Tex. Tech. Law Rev. 45:827–74 [Google Scholar]
  24. Dodson S. 2013. New Pleading in the Twenty-First Century: Slamming the Federal Courthouse Doors? New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  25. Eisenberg T, Clermont KM. 2014. Plaintiphobia in the Supreme Court. Cornell Law Rev. 100:193–212 [Google Scholar]
  26. Eisenberg T, Lanvers C. 2009. What is the settlement rate and why should we care?. J. Empir. Legal Stud. 6:111–46 [Google Scholar]
  27. Engstrom DE. 2013. The Twiqbal puzzle and empirical study of civil procedure. Stanford Law Rev. 65:1202–48 [Google Scholar]
  28. Farmer A, Pecorino P. 2005. Civil litigation with mandatory discovery and voluntary transmission of private information. J. Legal Stud. 34:137–59 [Google Scholar]
  29. Farmer A, Pecorino P. 2013. Discovery and disclosure with asymmetric information and endogenous expenditure at trial. J. Legal Stud. 42:223–47 [Google Scholar]
  30. Gelbach JB. 2012. Locking the doors to discovery? Assessing the effects of Twombly and Iqbal on access to discovery. Yale Law J. 121:2270–346 [Google Scholar]
  31. Gelbach JB. 2014a. Can the dark arts of the dismal science shed light on the empirical reality of civil procedure?. Stanford J. Complex Litig. 2:223–96 [Google Scholar]
  32. Gelbach JB. 2014b. Rethinking summary judgment empirics: the life of the parties. Univ. Pa. Law Rev. 162:1663–2014 [Google Scholar]
  33. Gelbach JB. 2015. Can we learn anything about pleading changes from existing data?. Int. Rev. Law Econ. In press
  34. Gelbach JB. 2016. Material facts in the debate over Twombly and Iqbal. Stanford Law Rev. 68: In press [Google Scholar]
  35. Gelbach JB, Kobayashi BH. 2015. The law and economics of proportionality in discovery. Ga. Law Rev. 50: In press [Google Scholar]
  36. Hay BL. 1994. Civil discovery: its effects and optimal scope. J. Legal Stud. 23:481–515 [Google Scholar]
  37. Huang KC. 2009. Does discovery promote settlement? An empirical answer. J. Empir. Legal Stud. 6:241–78 [Google Scholar]
  38. Hubbard WHJ. 2013. Testing for change in procedural standards, with application to Bell Atlantic v. Twombly. J. Legal Stud. 42:35–68 [Google Scholar]
  39. Hubbard WHJ. 2015. The discovery sombrero, and other metaphors for litigation. Cathol. Univ. Law Rev. 64: In press [Google Scholar]
  40. Hubbard WHJ. 2016. A fresh look at plausibility pleading. Univ. Chic. Law Rev. 83: In press [Google Scholar]
  41. Hylton K. 2008. When should a case be dismissed? The economics of pleading and summary judgment standards. Supreme Court Econ. Rev. 16:39–66 [Google Scholar]
  42. Issacharoff S, Loewenstein G. 1990. Second thoughts about summary judgment. Yale Law J. 100:73–126 [Google Scholar]
  43. Issacharoff S, Miller G. 2013. An information forcing approach to the motion to dismiss. J. Legal Anal. 5:437–65 [Google Scholar]
  44. Kakalik JS, Hensler DR, McCaffrey DF, Oshiro M, Pace M, Vaiana ME. 1998. Discovery Management: Further Analysis of the Civil Justice Reform Act Evaluation Data Santa Monica, CA: RAND Inst. Civ. Justice
  45. Kaplow L. 2013. Multistage adjudication. Harvard Law Rev. 126:1179–298 [Google Scholar]
  46. Kaplow L, Shavell S. 1994. Accuracy in the determination of liability. J. Law Econ. 37:1–15 [Google Scholar]
  47. Kaplow L, Shavell S. 1996. Accuracy in the assessment of damages. J. Law Econ. 39:191–210 [Google Scholar]
  48. Klerman D. 2012. Personal jurisdiction and product liability. South. Calif. Law Rev. 85:1551–96 [Google Scholar]
  49. Klerman D. 2014. Rethinking personal jurisdiction. J. Legal Anal. 6:245–303 [Google Scholar]
  50. Klerman D. 2015. Jurisdiction, choice of law and property. The Law and Economics of Possession Y-C Chang. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press [ Erratum] [Google Scholar]
  51. Klerman D, Reilly G. 2016. Forum selling. South. Calif. Law Rev. In press
  52. Landes WM. 1993. Sequential versus unitary trials: an economic analysis. J. Legal Stud. 22:99–134 [Google Scholar]
  53. Langbein JH. 1985. The German advantage in civil procedure. Univ. Chic. Law Rev. 52:823–66 [Google Scholar]
  54. Lee EL, Willging TE. 2009. Federal Judicial Center National, Case-Based Civil Rules Survey Prelim. Rep. Judic. Conf. Advis. Comm. Civil Rules, Fed. Judic. Cent., Washington, DC
  55. Mashaw JL. 1976. Supreme Courts due process calculus for administrative adjudication in Mathews v. Eldridge: 3 factors in search of a theory of value. Univ. Chic. Law Rev. 44:28–59 [Google Scholar]
  56. Matsushita Industrial Electric v. Zenith Radio 475 U.S. 574 1986.
  57. J. McIntyre Machinery v. Nicastro 131 S. Ct. 2780 2011.
  58. Michalski R, Wood A. 2015. Twombly and Iqbal at the state level. Unpubl. manuscr.
  59. Michelman FI. 1973. The Supreme Court and litigation access fees: the right to protect one's rights—part I. Duke Law J. 1973:1153–215 [Google Scholar]
  60. Miller G. 2013. A new procedure for state court personal jurisdiction. Work. Pap., NYU Public Law Legal Theory
  61. Miller G. 2014. In search of the most adequate forum: state court personal jurisdiction. Stanford J. Complex Litig. 2:1–39 [Google Scholar]
  62. Miller AR, Tucker CE. 2012. Electronic discovery and the adoption of information technology. J. Law Econ. Organ. 30:217–43 [Google Scholar]
  63. Mnookin R, Wilson R. 1998. A model of efficient discovery. Games Econ. Behav. 25:219–50 [Google Scholar]
  64. Murray PL, Stürner R. 2004. German Civil Procedure Durham, NC: Carolina Acad.
  65. Pace NM, Zakaras L. 2012. Where the Money Goes: Understanding Litigant Expenditures for Producing Electronic Discovery Santa Monica, CA: RAND Inst. Civ. Justice
  66. Pecorino P, Van Boening M. 2004. An empirical analysis of bargaining with voluntary transmission of private information. J. Legal Stud. 33:131–56 [Google Scholar]
  67. Posner RA. 1972. Economic Analysis of Law. New York: Little Brown
  68. Posner RA. 1973. Economic approach to legal procedure and judicial administration. J. Legal Stud. 2:399–458 [Google Scholar]
  69. Posner RA. 2014. Economic Analysis of Law New York: Aspen, 9th ed..
  70. Priest GL, Klein B. 1984. The selection of disputes for litigation. J. Legal Stud. 13:1–55 [Google Scholar]
  71. Reinert AR. 2015. Measuring the impact of plausibility pleading. Va. Law Rev. In press
  72. Reilly G. 2015. Linking patent reform and civil litigation reform. Loyola Univ. Chic. Law Rev. 47: In press [Google Scholar]
  73. Sanchirico CW. 2012. Procedural Law and Economics Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2nd ed..
  74. Schrag J. 1999. Managerial judges: an economic analysis of the judicial management of legal discovery. RAND J. Econ. 30:305–23 [Google Scholar]
  75. Shavell S. 1989. Sharing of information prior to settlement or litigation. RAND J. Econ. 20:183–95 [Google Scholar]
  76. Shavell S. 1997. The fundamental divergence between the private and the social motive to use the legal system. J. Legal Stud. 26:575–612 [Google Scholar]
  77. Shavell S. 2014. On the general rationale for motions in the design of adjudication Coase Medal Lect. Presented at Am. Law Econ. Assoc. Annu. Meet., 24th, Chicago
  78. Sobel J. 1989. An analysis of discovery rules. Law Contemp. Probl. 52:133–59 [Google Scholar]
  79. Willging TE, Stienstra D, Shapard J. 1998. An empirical study of discovery and disclosure practice under the 1993 Federal Rule Amendments. Boston Coll. Law Rev. 39:525–96 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030905
Loading
  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error