Complex Litigation and Its Alternatives (Concepts and Insights)

This text is a comprehensive treatise examining the challenges presented by complex litigation. Subjects covered include devices for aggregating large numbers of claims (including extended discussions of multidistrict litigation and class actions), techniques to narrow issues and efficiently gather evidence during pretrial, methods to conduct trials in mass disputes, and ways to provide remedies for widespread harm. Although the focus is on litigation, the book also explores the increasing use of alternative methods to resolve mass disputes. The book is theoretically sophisticated enough for use in academic research or legal practice, but written in a manner to be accessible to students. The book is designed to be compatible with all existing casebooks on complex litigation, but it can also serve as a stand-alone text for the classroom. The new edition significantly expands discussion of the role of the MDL Panel and transferee judges in civil litigation in federal court, examines the increasing role of third party litigation finance, explains the way parties have sought to use the bankruptcy system as a device for claim aggregation, and reviews the way attorneys fees have changed over time. The new edition is thoroughly footnoted with many cases since 2018 and represents the best, indeed the only, student treatise on Complex Litigation on the market today.