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Appellate caseload and the switch to comparative negligence

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  • De Mot, Jef
  • Faure, Michael
  • Klick, Jonathan

Abstract

The switch from contributory to comparative negligence is thought to have been motivated primarily out of a concern for justice. We offer a different perspective. Language in state supreme court decisions suggests that some judges thought the switch would reduce appeal rates. We hypothesize that courts were more likely to make the switch when their appellate caseloads are relatively high. To examine this, we estimate hazard models, showing that states with appellate courts where caseloads grew relatively faster made the switch more quickly, and the effect was more pronounced for the switch to the pure, as opposed to the modified, form of comparative negligence.

Suggested Citation

  • De Mot, Jef & Faure, Michael & Klick, Jonathan, 2015. "Appellate caseload and the switch to comparative negligence," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 147-156.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:42:y:2015:i:c:p:147-156
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irle.2015.01.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Curran, Christopher, 1992. "The spread of the comparative negligence rule in the United States," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 317-332, September.
    2. Mireia Artigot i Golobardes & Fernando Gómez Pomar, 2009. "Contributory and Comparative Negligence in the Law and Economics Literature," Chapters, in: Michael Faure (ed.), Tort Law and Economics, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Eric Helland & Jonathan Klick, 2007. "The Effect of Judicial Expedience on Attorney Fees in Class Actions," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 171-187, January.
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    5. Michelle J. White, 1989. "An Empirical Test of the Comparative and Contributory Negligence Rules in Accident Law," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 20(3), pages 308-330, Autumn.
    6. Anderson, Gary M & Shughart, William F, II & Tollison, Robert D, 1989. "On the Incentives of Judges to Enforce Legislative Wealth Transfers," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 215-228, April.
    7. Oren Bar-Gill & Omri Ben-Shahar, 2003. "The Uneasy Case for Comparative Negligence," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 433-469, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph Engel & Keren Weinshall, 2020. "Manna from Heaven for Judges: Judges’ Reaction to a Quasi‐Random Reduction in Caseload," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 722-751, December.

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