Regulation By Litigation

September 23, 2009

Class Action Lawsuit Brought Against Hot Dog Manufacturers

A class action lawsuit has been filed against four leading hot dog manufacturers in a New Jersey state court. The suit alleges that hot dog manufacturers should be required to warn consumers that consumption of processed meat increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer. The plaintiffs are seeking both monetary damages and injunctive relief, in the form of mandatory warning labels upon packages of hot dogs and hot dog ads.

dag77 at 02:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Report Predicts Increase in Climate Change Litigation Against Polluters

According to a report by insurer Swiss Re, courts world-wide are likely to see an increase in litigation against polluters for damages stemming from climate change.  The report warns of a swift rise in climate change litigation similar to the spike in asbestos suits following the 1950s.  Polluters have a present advantage because of the tenuous link between emissions and global climate change that makes establishing causation difficult.  However, increasing scientific knowledge may lead to successful litigation against polluters in the future.

dag77 at 02:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

City's Public Nuisance Suit Against Subprime Lenders Dismissed

The city of Cleveland's public nuisance suit against companies involved in the subprime mortgage industry was dismissed in federal court.  The city had brought suit against twenty-one companies representing every segment of the subprime mortgage market.  Cleveland alleged harms stemming from a high foreclosure rate, such as increased police and fire costs and decreased tax revenue.  Judge Sara Lioi said the suit violated an Ohio state statute barring municipalities from taking action to regulate loans.  She cited a U.S. Supreme Court holding that "regulation can be as effectively exerted through an action for damages as through some form of preventative relief."  Her opinion also said the city's suit must also fail because it did not establish an unreasonable interference with a public right or a causal link between the mortgages and the region's economic plight.

dag77 at 02:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Affirms Verdict Favoring Manufacturer of Lead Paint

The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a ruling dismissing a personal injury lawsuit against a former manufacturer of lead paint.  The Court held that the company was not liable in a defective design suit "where the presence of lead is the alleged defect in design, and its very presence is a characteristic of the product itself.  Without lead there could be no white lead carbonate pigment."  The holding is a major victory for paint companies.

dag77 at 02:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Medicare Litigation Provision Removed from House Health Care Reform Bill

In Forbes, Walter Olson reports on a draft provision in the House of Representative's health care reform bill that would have authorized private suits on behalf of the government for Medicare reimbursement.  The provision, removed before the bill went to the Ways and Means Committee, would have expanded the scope of allowable suits against Medicare third-party defendants.  In the simplest scenario, Olson argues, freelance lawyers would be able to sue tortfeasors on behalf of the government when they have caused injury to an individual whose medical bills were later covered by Medicare.  The provision would not have required lawyers to obtain permission from the government before initiating suit.

dag77 at 02:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 21, 2009

Regulation by Litigation -- the Book:

Earlier this year, Yale University Press published Regulation by Litigation by University of Illinois law professor Andrew P. Morriss, Clemson economist Bruce Yandle, and CWRU School of Law library Head of Reference Andrew Dorchak. Here is the description from the YUP website:

Federal and state regulatory agencies are increasingly making use of litigation as a means of regulation. In this book, three experts in regulatory law and theory offer a systematic analysis of the use of litigation to impose substantive regulatory measures, including a public choice-based analysis of why agencies choose to litigate in some circumstances.

The book examines three major cases in which litigation was used to achieve regulatory ends: the EPA’s suit against heavy duty diesel engine manufacturers; asbestos and silica dust litigation by private attorneys; and private and state lawsuits against cigarette manufacturers. The authors argue that litigation is an inappropriate means for establishing substantive regulatory provisions, and they conclude by suggesting a variety of reforms to help curb today’s growing reliance on such practice.

Here is what some have said about the book:

"A valuable, spirited book about how bureaucrats use litigation to avoid the constraints they face when they regulate the old-fashioned way, by formulating rules, that enriches our understanding of bureaucracy."-Jonathan Macey, Yale University

"This book invites lawyers to apply economics to the law and urges economists to analyze litigation''s impact on the economy. The authors reveal the pernicious results of substituting litigation for sound public policy, providing a first step toward correcting a regulatory process gone awry."-Terry L. Anderson, Executive Director, The Property and Environment Research Center

"The authors' winning combination of clear theory and illustrative case studies makes this book a necessary read for anyone who wishes to grapple with the negative synergies of two systems of social control, which can easily swamp any gains that either system alone could provide."-Richard A. Epstein, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

jha5 at 02:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Regulation by Litigation

Welcome to the Regulation by Litigation blog, a project of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. This blog will compile information on and analysis of "regulation by litigation" from a variety of sources. It aims to be a resource for researchers and policy-makers with an interest in this phenomenon.

jha5 at 02:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)