Document Type
Article
Abstract
Decisions made by litigants are often not beneficial to society. A rule governing fee allocation in tort cases should encourage meritorious suits and discourage frivolous suits. America is one of the only countries in the world that does not use a loser-pays rule to assign legal costs. Employing a loser-pays rule could make the legal system more efficient and more equitable. The effect of a loser-pays rule is analyzed with economic theory and empirical evidence. Possible limitations of the rule are also considered. A carefully applied system of loser-pays may positively affect the U.S. legal system.
Publication Date
Spring 2005
Journal Title
Major Themes in Economics
Volume
7
Issue
1
First Page
31
Last Page
45
Copyright
©2005 by Major Themes in Economics
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Loos, Jaime Leigh
(2005)
"The Effect of a Loser-Pays Rule on the Decisions of an American Litigant,"
Major Themes in Economics, 7, 31-45.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol7/iss1/4