This paper studies the effects of allocation rules on the stability of mass tort class actions. I analyze a two-stage model in which a defendant faces multiple plaintiffs with heterogeneous damage claims. In stage 1, the plaintiffs play a noncooperative coalition formation game. In stage 2, the class action and any individual actions by opt-out plaintiffs are litigated or settled. I examine how...

The adversarial tort system in the United States is a significant burden on the economy and its cost exceeds 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP). These costs have grown 4 times faster than the US economy between 1930 and 1994.1 In the next few years, tort costs could increase twice as fast as the economy, going from $200 billion in 2001 to $298 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, by 2005.2 The current ...

This Article considers a new development in medical practice-the use of medical decision-support tools-and positions it within one of the most enduring debates at the intersection of administrative law and tort law. The Article identifies key factors that policy-makers in medical, environmental, and other contexts use to decide between regulatory and tort approaches to public protection, and ar...

This paper estimated the effects of tort law and insurer investment returns on physician malpractice insurance premiums. Data were collected on tort law from 1991 through 2004, and multivariate regression models, including fixed effects for state and year, were used to estimate the effect of changes in tort law on medical malpractice premiums. The premium consequences of national policy changes...

Fuzzy logic has been widely used in machinery, robotics, and industrial engineering. This chapter introduces the use of fuzzy logic for the needs of financial management. The process of globalization has led to the emergence of a complex network of relationships in the business environment. In a free market economy, this means increased complexity and uncertainty of factors affecting the financ...

The failure rate of Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is high in Sweden. Around 6000 SMEs go into bankruptcy every year. This paper attempts to identify the main determinants that are perceived to have contribution to the failure of Swedish SMEs. The research is in principle based on the analysis of panel data matched sample consisting of 1991 bankrupted and 1991 nonbankrupted Swedish SMEs. ...

Malpractice insurance provides for payments to patients so that a physician need not compensate harmed patients from personal assets. The bankruptcy system also protects a debtor's assets from seizure by creditors. In this paper, we estimate the e ect of personal asset protection on physician practice decisions. Variation in bankruptcy law provides exogenous variation in risk to physician perso...