Asbestos Litigation: Procedural Innovations and Forum Shopping

Michelle J. White

The Journal of Legal Studies, 2006, vol. 35, issue 2, 365-398

Abstract: This paper examines how forum shopping and procedural innovations affect the outcomes of asbestos trials using a new data set of all asbestos trials from 1987 to 2003. When lawsuits are filed in six particularly favorable jurisdictions, plaintiffs’ expected returns from trial are found to increase by $800,000 to nearly $4 million. The procedural innovations are bifurcated trials, bouquet trials, and consolidation of multiple plaintiffs’ claims for trial. Bifurcated and bouquet trials are found to increase plaintiffs’ expected returns from trial by $650,000 and $1.2 million, respectively. Small consolidations are found to increase plaintiffs’ probabilities of winning and receiving punitive damages, but larger consolidations are associated with lower damage awards.

Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:35:y:2006:p:365-398

DOI: 10.1086/501096

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