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The Law of Class Actions and Other Aggregate Litigation

3rd Edition
Richard A. Nagareda | Robert G. Bone | Elizabeth Chamblee Burch | Patrick Woolley
ISBN: 9781684671311
Subject: Complex Litigation
Format: Print - Hardbound
Page Count: 886
Copyright: 2020 | Status: In Stock
Other Formats Available

The third edition of this casebook reflects the many developments that have occurred in aggregate litigation since 2013 while continuing to treat the subject as a coherent whole. This edition includes a short, systematic introduction to the range of different aggregation techniques and then pays detailed attention to class actions, multidistrict litigation (MDL), parens-patriae suits, bankruptcy, and arbitration. In particular, this edition features a new chapter devoted to MDL, in which topics range from selecting the transferee court, choosing what law should apply, and exploring the judicial role in examining MDL’s effect on settlement and leadership selection. As before, the casebook does more than just present the law—it considers multiple perspectives on policy, litigation strategy, judicial practice, financial considerations, and empirical findings.

The book fills three gaps in the market for teaching materials on the U.S. civil justice system. First, it treats “aggregate litigation” as a cohesive field of law that encompasses all devices for processing claims en masse. Second, the book confronts forthrightly the reality of our civil justice system as one geared toward settlement, not trial. From this vantage point, the casebook sees the processes for aggregate litigation as vehicles through which to achieve comprehensive, or broadly encompassing, resolution of related civil claims. Third, the book frames the legitimacy of preclusion in aggregate litigation by drawing, among other things, on conceptions of legitimacy in other settings, such as private contract and public legislation. In so doing, the casebook encourages students to see cross-cutting connections with their other courses on such topics as contracts, corporations, and administrative law.


Imprint: Foundation Press
Series: University Casebook Series
Publication Date: 07/09/2020

Richard A. Nagareda

Robert G. Bone, University of Texas School of Law

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, University of Georgia School of Law

Patrick Woolley, University of Texas School of Law

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The third edition of this casebook thoroughly updates and revises the second edition to take account of the many developments since 2013, while preserving the overall approach of the first and second editions, which treats aggregate litigation as a coherent whole. Chapter One has been tightened and revised to present a more systematic introduction to the range of different aggregation techniques. The materials on class actions in Chapter Two have been updated and, where possible, shortened. Among other things, the Chapter, replaces Klay v. Humana with In re NFL Concussion Litigation. This edition also debuts a new chapter devoted to comprehensively examining multidistrict litigation. It covers selection of the transferee court, choice of law, MDL’s effect on settlement, selection of lead counsel, judicial management, lead counsel’s duties to non-clients, aggregate settlements and related ethical issues, and judicial power to review settlements and award common-benefit fees. In addition, Chapter 4, on the Coordination of Aggregate Litigation, includes a new section on the effect of recent personal jurisdiction decisions on aggregate litigation; Chapter 6 incorporates current events such as the opioid crisis into the materials on bankruptcy and parens-patriae litigation, and Chapter 7 updates the materials on arbitration and aggregation.

Learn more about this series.