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Class Actions & Mass Torts

Publications are listed in chronological order. Learn more about ICJ's research by visiting the Research Agenda page on Class Actions and Mass Torts. Additional related publications may be found in the lists of Research Briefs and Executive Summaries.

Publications

Insurance Class Actions in the United States Nicholas M. Pace, Stephen J. Carroll, Ingo Vogelsang, Laura Zakaras, MG-587-ICJ, 2007 (Full Document). This book provides the most comprehensive portrait to date of insurance class actions, using data collected from 57 large U.S. insurance companies for almost 750 class action cases.

Asbestos Litigation Costs and Compensation: An Interim Report Stephen Carroll, Deborah Hensler, Allan Abrahamse, Jennifer Gross, Michelle White, Scott Ashwood, and Elizabeth Sloss, DB-397-ICJ, 2002 (Full Document) Examines the dimensions of current asbestos litigation and the potential future effects of the litigation on the U.S. economy.

Revisiting the Monster: New Myths and Realities of Class Action and Other Large Scale Litigation Deborah Hensler, RP-979-ICJ (originally published in Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, v. 11, no. 2, 2001), 2002 (Ordering Information; Full Text available from publisher) Considers "the new social policy torts": suits against tobacco companies, firearms manufacturers, and managed care organizations that are intended to change public policy.

Asbestos Litigation in the U.S.: A New Look at an Old Issue Deborah Hensler, Stephen Carroll, Michelle White, Jennifer Gross, DB-362.0-ICJ, 2001 (Full Document) This briefing documents the first phase of a new study on asbestos litigation, now the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.

Beyond "It Just Ain't Worth It": Alternative Strategies for Damage Class Action Reform Deborah R. Hensler, Thomas D. Rowe, RP-951-ICJ (originally published in Law and contemporary problems, v. 64, spring/summer 2001, nos. 2 & 3), 2001 (Ordering Information; Full Text available from publisher) Explores alternative strategies for class-action reform aimed at improving the cost-benefit ratio of damage class actions; seeks to identify mechanisms for enhancing the court system's capacity to screen out non-meritorious suits, while preserving access to the courts for meritorious actions.

Class Action Dilemmas: Pursuing Public Goals for Private Gain Deborah R. Hensler, Nicholas M. Pace, Bonita Dombey-Moore, Beth Giddens, Jennifer Gross, Erik Moller, MR-969-ICJ, 2000 (Full Document) Are class actions worth their costs to society and to business? Do they do more harm than good? This study answers these questions by describing the landscape of current damage class action litigation, elucidating problems, and identifying solutions.

Safety in the Skies: Personnel and Parties in NTSB Aviation Accident Investigations - Master Volume Cindy Lebow, Liam Sarsfield, William L. Stanley, Emile Ettedgui, Garth Henning, MR-1122/1-ICJ, 2000 (Full Document) Outlines a comprehensive set of recommendations intended to help the NTSB improve future accident investigation processes.

Individuals Within the Aggregate: Relationships, Representation, and Fees Judith Resnik, Dennis E. Curtis, and Deborah R. Hensler, RP-584 (originally published in New York University Law Review, v. 71, nos. 1-2, April-May 1996), 1996 (Ordering Information) Addresses the problems raised when, in contrast to the paradigm of class action, aggregation brings together mass tort plaintiffs, some of whom come with individually retained plaintiffs' attorneys, who perform tasks in addition to those done by a court-appointed plaintiffs' steering committee.

A Glass Half Full, a Glass Half Empty: The Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Mass Personal Injury Litigation Deborah R. Hensler, RP-446 (originally published in Texas Law Review, v. 73, no. 7, June 1995), 1995 (Ordering Information) Briefly surveys the many forms of ADR to determine whether the use of ADR might help the civil justice system deal with the increasing amount of mass personal injury litigation.

Understanding Mass Personal Injury Litigation: A Socio-Legal Analysis Deborah R. Hensler and Mark A. Peterson, RP-311 (originally published in Brooklyn Law Review, v. 59, no. 3, Fall 1993), 1994 (Ordering Information) Examines the broader context in which innovations to improve processing of mass tort cases must function.

Fashioning a National Resolution of Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation: A Reply to Professor Brickman Deborah R. Hensler, RP-114 (originally published in Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 13, no. 6, Apr. 1992), 1992 (Ordering Information) Responds to Professor Brickman's analysis of the asbestos litigation problem, as well as to his proposal for a national administrative solution to the problem.

Asbestos Litigation in the United States: A Brief Overview Deborah R. Hensler, P-7776 (October 1991 testimony to the Courts and Judicial Administration Subcommittee, United States House Judiciary Committee), 1992 (Ordering Information) Summarizes the scope of asbestos litigation in the United States, the response of the civil justice system to date, and the obstacles to efficient and equitable resolution of asbestos-related personal injury claims.

Asbestos in the Courts: The Challenge of Mass Toxic Torts Deborah R. Hensler, William L.F. Felstiner, Molly Selvin, Patricia A. Ebener, R-3324, 1985 (Ordering Information) Presents the results of a study of how the civil justice system has dealt with the challenges presented by asbestos litigation.

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