NCJ Number
143593
Journal
Journal of Legal Studies Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1993) Pages: 187-210
Date Published
1993
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This analysis of patterns of winning rates in civil litigation challenges the standard theory, which predicts a 50-percent win rate for plaintiffs, and predicts that the win rate will be less than 50-percent in areas where defendants have an informational advantage and greater than 50 percent in areas where the plaintiff has an informational advantage.
Abstract
In addition, a 50-percent win rate will occur in areas where neither party has the informational advantage in litigation. The standard theoretical approach, the divergent-expectations theory of Priest and Klein, predicts that plaintiffs should win about 50 percent because the cases litigated are those in which the outcome is most certain. According to this theory, it is not necessary to know the identities of the litigants or the specific area of litigation to understand the differences between litigated and settled disputes. The alternative model reveals that patterns of win rates can be explained by the informational requirements of the relevant legal standard. Data from the Eisenberg, Daniels and Martin, and Priest and Klein studies are consistent with the predictions of this model. Footnotes and appended tables