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Complex Litigation
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NCSC Documents  Recent NCSC reports and publications and NCSC seminal works. Also includes Trends articles, Court Executive Development Programs (CEDP) papers, Court Technology Conference Presentations, Justice System Journal articles and NACM Achievement Awards.

Digital Archive  Works on judicial administration accumulated since NCSC's inception in 1971 that have been digitized to preserve their historic value.

Mass Tort Clearinghouse   This Web site has information on Mass Torts Judges' Network, Mass Tort resources, and news and information.

Civil Litigation InfoCenter  Additional CourTopics modules related to this topic.

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Coordination and Management

Schwartz, Martin A. and Kathryn R. Urbonya. Section 1983 Litigation. 2nd edition, Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (2008).  This book includes comprehensive discussion of all aspects of Section 1983 litigaton, including its history; elements of a claim; constitutional rights and federal statutes enforceable under Section 1983; color of state law and state action claims; causation; municipal, state, supervisory and personal liability; exhaustion of state remedies; defenses; abstention doctrines; monetary relief; and attorneys's fees.  (KF1325 .C58 S38 2008

Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for Multidistrict Litigation Transferee Court Clerks. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation & The Federal Judicial Center (2008).  This resource provides valuable information regarding how to manage cases within the context of multidistrict ligitation. Recommendations cover topics such as certified orders, a master docket, required notifications, transfer of cases, and customizing litigation systems. 

Caffrey, Sharon L. "Who Should Direct Your Company`s Next Case?." National Law Journal (May 2006).  Describes the use of national coordinating counsel for complex litigation.

Jokela, Lynn. "Special Masters in State Court Complex Litigation: An Available and Underused Case Management Tool." William Mitchell Law Review 31: 31 (2006).  (KF8727 .J65 2005)

Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center (2004).  Based on the premise that “[f]air and efficient resolution of complex litigation requires at least that (1) the court exercise early and effective supervision (and, where necessary, control); (2) counsel act cooperatively and professionally; and (3) the judge and counsel collaborate to develop and carry out a comprehensive plan for the conduct of pretrial and trial proceedings,” the Manual sets forth “generic principles of pretrial and trial management.” The special problems posed by class actions and mass torts are covered, as are specific case types such as antitrust, securities, employment discrimination, intellectual property, CERCLA, and civil RICO. 

Herrmann, Mark et al. Statewide Coordinated Proceedings: State Court Analogues to the Federal MDL Process. St. Paul, MN: West (2004).  Excellent federal and state-by-state information about case coordination, including caselaw, statutes, and procedures. (KF8925 .T67 H47 2004)

Karnow, Curtis E. A. "Managing Civil Litigation." Court News: 1 (May 2002).  Compares and contrasts new and old rules of the California Judicial Council’s Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee and its Case Management Subcommittee. The new rules present a statewide procedure for active civil-case management.

Deskbook on the Management of Complex Civil Litigation. San Francisco: California Judicial Council (2000).  (KFC995 .D47)

Apple, James G. et al. Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center (1997).  A comprehensive manual illustrating how cooperation, communication, and collaboration between state and federal courts in diverse areas of court practices and court administration have improved court operations and has led to greater efficiency of time and money. 

Brunette, Stephen A., and Joe Cecil. "Daubert and Other Approaches to Scientific Evidence." CTC Session Article (1994).  Brief overview of Daubert, including judge’s role as gatekeeper, validity and reliability of evidence, the role of the jury, “novel” evidence, state court reactions, and resources for judges.

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Complex Litigation Programs

Fact Sheet. California Complex Civil Litigation Program. (July 2008).  The Judicial Council’s Complex Civil Litigation Task Force was appointed in 1997 to find ways to help trial courts manage complex civil litigation more efficiently and effec-tively.

Steelman, David C., and Richard Van Duizend. Civil Programs in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Denver, CO: National Center for State Courts Court Consulting Services (2004).  Comprehensive review of the court, including its complex litigation center, with recommendations.

George, Ronald M. "Complex Civil Litigation Pilot a Success." Court News: 2 (September 2001).  Delivered as part of his remarks to the Complex Court Symposium, June 23, 2001, Chief Justice George comments on the complex litigation pilot project in California, best practices, and specialized curriculum for complex litigation pilot judges.

"Tracking Complex Litigation: Conversation with Judge Ronald M. Sabraw." Court News: 10 (September 2001).  Question-and-answer format interview with judge from the Alameda Superior Court complex litigation pilot program. Includes information about education of attorneys, promoting the program, trends in business litigation, and general information about the pilot program.

Hannaford, Paula L. et al. "Focus on Business and Complex Litigation Courts." Civil Action 1, no. 1 (August 2000).  Emphasizes practices in specialized courts in California, Delaware, and New York. Includes checklist of best practices.

"Complex Civil Litigation Just Got Simpler." Court News: 1 (March 2000).  Describes pilot programs for managing complex litigation in the Superior Courts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties. Funding and evaluation are discussed. 

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Class Actions

Hehman, Hilary. Findings of the Study of California Class Action Litigation, 2000-2006. Administrative Office of the Courts, Office of Court Research (March 2009).  This interim report analyzes case filings, case types, primary claim, dispositions, and time to disposition for class action litigation filings in California from 2000 through 2006, as well as the impact of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.  

Rothstein, Barbara J., and Thomas E. Willging. Managing Class Action Litigation: A Pocket Guide for Judges. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center (2009).  This pocket guide includes information about selection of counsel; the timing and significance of class certifications; settlement review; attorney fees; the role of governmental actors; how to coordinate cases with other judges; and use of special masters and court-appointed experts. (KF8896 .R68 2009)

Willging, Thomas E., and Emery Lee. Interim Progress Report on Class Action Fairness Act Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (May 2006).  Interim data from the federal district courts studied indicated "dramatic increases in class action activity" as compared to the class action study undertaken by FJC in the 1990s.  This is one of the first studies to compare cases filed in federal court immediately before and after CAFA's effective date. 

American Arbitration Policy on Class Arbitrations. American Arbitration Society (July 2005).  Post-Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, the American Arbitration Association issued supplementary rules of class arbitrations.  Commentary to the policy is included.

Willging, Thomas E., and Shannon R. Wheatman. An Empirical Examination of Attorneys` Choice of Forum in Class Action Litigation. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (2005).  The authors surveyed attorneys who represented plaintiffs and defendants in class actions that had been filed in or removed to federal courts to gauge the attorneys' reasons for choice of forum.  The authors also tracked differences in rulings in state and federal courts on class certification, motions, and other matters in a subset of cases.

Dickerson, Thomas A. and Kenneth Manning. "A Summary of Article 9 Class Actions in 2003." New York Law Journal (January 2004).  Annual summary of New York Court class actions brought under CPLR Art. 9.  In 2003, the cases involved the rights of school children, cable television subscribers, professional banquet waiters, and others around New York state.

Willging, Thomas E., and Shannon R. Wheatman. Attorney Reports on the Impact of Amchem and Orgiz on Choice of a Federal or State Forum in Class Action Litigation. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (2004).  A Report to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules Regarding a Case-Base Survey of Attorneys.  This document was created in response to the Amchem and Ortiz decisions, which have created extremely specific guidelines on class action lawsuits.

Epstein, Richard A. "Class Actions: The Need for a Hard Second Look." Civil Justice Report, No. 4 (March 2002).  Summary of class action litigation in the United States from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.  The article discusses the importance of keeping class actions as a useful procedural device, while reforming the misuse of class actions.

Hooper, Laural L., and Marie Leary. Auctioning the Role of Class Counsel in Class Action Cases: A Descriptive Study. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center (August 2001).  This study was undertaken to provide the Third Circuit Task Force on Selection of Class Counsel with information about the auction or bidding method of selecting class counsel.

Dickerson, Thomas A. and Kenneth Manning. "Summary of Article 9 Class Actions in New York State Courts During the Year 2000." New York Law Journal (January 2001).  Summarizes class actions brought in New York state courts, including those cases involving life insurance; mortgage refinancing; wireless customers; tax refund anticipation laws; airline passengers; and other consumer cases.

Excessive Legal Fees: Protecting the Unsophisticated Consumers, Class Action Members, and Taxpayers. Manhattan Institute Conference Transcript (May 2000).  Panelists at Manhattan Institute symposium discuss "The Scope of the Problem and Responses by the Judiciary and Bar;"  "Fees in Traditional Litigation:  A New Reform Proposal;" "Fees in High Stakes Litigation:  Class Actions and Suits by Government Agencies." 

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Mass Torts

Kirk, Richard D. et al. Special Committee on Superior Court Toxic Tort Litigation. Delaware Superior Court (May 2008).  This report includes a review of the hisotry of asbestos and toxic tort litigation in Delaware. Issues examined include joinder, trial scheduling, disclosure and summary judgment.  The report concludes with several recommendations.

Hylton, Keith N. "Asbestos and Mass Torts with Fraudulent Victims." 37 Sw. U. L. Rev. 575 (January 2008).  This article explores the issue of fraudulent claims within the context of mass torts litigation. 

Sanders, Joseph "Medical Criteria Acts: State Statutory Attempts to Control the Asbestos Litigation." 37 SW. U. L. Rev. 671 (January 2008).  This article explores the efforts of several states to limit asbestos litigation claims using the legislative process.  These state statutes require claimants to be able to show some physical impairment prior to filing an asbestos claim. 

Calnan, Alan and Bryon G. Stier. "Perspectives on Asbestos Litigation: Overview and Preview." 37 Sw. U. L. Rev. 459 (January 2008).  This article sets the tone for the Southwestern University Law School's Symposium "Perspectives on Asbestos Litigation," and reviews some of the key issues faced in asbestos cases. 

Freedman, Helen E. "Selected Ethical Issues in Asbestos Litigation." 37 Sw. U. L. Rev. 511 (January 2008).  This article probes ethical issues within the environment of asbestos litigation, specifically issues involved deferred dockets, aggregation, settlement and allocation, advertising and screening, attorney's fees, trial techniques, punitive damages, and special masters.

Borys, Bryan. Cost Savings in the Los Angeles Superior Court`s Complex Litigation Program.  (2007).  (KFC1017 .B67 2007)

Frankel, Alison. "The Mass Tort Bonanza That Wasn`t." American Lawyer (January 2006).  Discusses defense strategy and the use of multi-district litigation to address PPA lawsuits.

Case Management Manual for Asbestos Cases. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Judiciary (2006).  Includes case managment policies adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court.

New Jersey Mass Tort (Non-Asbestos) Resource Book. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Judiciary (2005).  Manual provides "procedural and operational guidance to New Jersey judges and judiciary staff" who handle mass torts.

Manual for Complex Litigation. 4th ed., Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (2004).  While the focus is on federal courts, the Manual's approach to management of complex cases is a useful resource for those in similar proceedings, in the states.  (KF8900 .M35 2004).

Herrmann, Mark et al. Statewide Coordinated Proceedings: State Court Analogues to the Federal MDL Process. St. Paul, MN: West (2004).  Excellent federal and state-by-state analysis of statewide coordination.  Includes orders where available; rules; statutes; caselaw; relevant state constitutional provisions; and other information helpful to those involved with the litigation of mass torts.  (IF8925 .T67 H47 2004

Gibson, S. Elizabeth. Case Studies of Mass Tort Limited Fund Class Action Settlements and Bankruptcy Reorganizations. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (2000).  This two hundred forty-five page e-book examines three limited fund class action settlements of mass tort claims and four bankruptcy reorganizations precipitated by mass tort litigation.

Deskbook on the Management of Complex Litigation. Judicial Council of California, Lexis Publishing (2000).  This legal treatise covers case management and specialized areas of complex civil litigation.  It also includes a useful table of cases and table of statutes.  (KFC995 .D47)

Willging, Thomas E. Mass Torts Problems and Proposals. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center (1999).  Appendix C of the Report to the Mass Torts Working Group, which reviews and organizes legal and empirical literature on mass torts to identify problems associated with mass tort litigation.

Aikman, Alexander B. Managing Mass Tort Cases: A Resource Book for State Trial Court Judges. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts (December 1995).  This resource book for state court trial judges was created from the disscussion at the first National Mass Tort Conference.

Megatorts: The Lessons of Asbestos Litigation. Alexandria, VA: State Justice Institute (1992).  (KF1297 .A73 M34)

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Technology

McMillan, Jim. "Electronic Case Filing Program Kicks Off at Orange County Clerk`s Office." Court Technology Bulletin (May 2006).  Discusses the use of e-filing at the Orange County complex litigation pilot.

"Improving Court Stats, E-filing." Court News: 7 (September 2004).  Mentions e-filing for complex civil cases in California’s Contra Costa County Superior Court.

"Ordering the Use of Technology in Discovery." Court News: 13 (July 2004).  Checklist for using California Code of Civil Procedure 2017(e) to order the use of technology for discovery purposes in complex cases.

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Date Last Modified: 7/31/2009
Creation Date: 2007

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