Punitive Damages and the Processing of Tort Claims

This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data

Punitive Damages and the Processing of Tort Claims

Author Info

Thomas A. Eaton (University of Georgia)
David B. Mustard (University of Georgia)
Susette M. Talarico (University of Georgia)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

David B. Mustard

Abstract

Punitive damages are one of the most controversial aspects of tort litigation and have been the subject of various theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies. One criticism of punitive damages refers to the effect that they have on civil litigation processes. In particular, Polinsky (1997) argues that the uncertainty and unpredictability that punitive damage claims inject into a case may increase both the rate and amount of settlements, thus implying that punitive damages carry systemic consequences for the general processing of tort claims. This paper represents the first, empirical examination of this implication. With one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets of tort litigation (over 25,000 cases filed from 1994 through 1997 in several counties in Georgia), we examine the effect of the decision to seek punitive damages on several major decision points in the tort litigation process in a series of logit regression models. With extensive control variables for type of case, the presence or absence of caps on damages, and other potentially important variables, we find that seeking punitive damages has no statistically significant effect on most phases of the tort litigation process.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Law and Economics with number 0501002.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 38 pages
Date of creation: 05 Jan 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwple:0501002

Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 38
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://129.3.20.41

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (EconWPA).

Find related papers by JEL classification:
K - Law and Economics

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2005-01-09 (All new papers)
NEP-LAW-2005-01-09 (Law & Economics)

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Sunstein, Cass R & Schkade, David A & Kahneman, Daniel, 2000. "Do People Want Optimal Deterrence?," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 237-53, January.
Cass R. Sunstein & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Ilana Ritov, 2001. "Predictably Incoherent Judgements," Discussion Paper Series dp273, Center for Rationality and Interactive Decision Theory, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. [Downloadable!]
Polinsky, A Mitchell, 1997. "Are Punitive Damages Really Insignificant, Predictable, and Rational? A Comment on Eisenberg et al," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 663-77, June.
Viscusi, W Kip, 2001. "The Challenge of Punitive Damages Mathematics," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 313-50, Part I Ju.
Moller, Erik K & Pace, Nicholas M & Carroll, Stephen J, 1999. "Punitive Damages in Financial Injury Jury Verdicts," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 283-339, June.
Eisenberg, Theodore, et al, 1997. "The Predictability of Punitive Damages," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 623-61, June.
Viscusi, W Kip, 2001. "Jurors, Judges, and the Mistreatment of Risk by the Courts," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(1), pages 107-42, January.

Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? No RePEc service, like IDEAS, charges for the use or the display of bibliographic data.

This page was last updated on 2008-5-13.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.