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July 27, 2017|Americans with Disabilities Act, Class Actions, EEOC, plaintiffs' bar, Walter Olson

Americans with Disabilities Act: An Epic Tragedy of Good Intentions

by Mark Pulliam|

George Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; Washington DC, July 26,1990.

Looking back at the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed by Congress in 1990[1], one has to be struck by the extent to which the ADA’s lofty sentiments have been overwhelmed by its adverse results. If it’s true that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the ADA is a veritable Autobahn of wishful thinking gone awry. Yet no one seems inclined to reroute the ill-fated traffic; some states are even widening the highway with additional lanes.

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July 18, 2017|Class Actions, cy-pres, Judge Janice Rogers Brown, Keepseagle v. Perdue

Judicially Supervised Plunder

by Mark Pulliam|

Prison bars and a hallway 3d rendering

The unexpected retirement of Judge Janice Rogers Brown, 68, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will trigger a well-deserved celebration of her extraordinary judicial career, both as a federal appellate judge (since 2005) and previously as a member of the California Supreme Court (1996 to 2005).  It will be difficult for President Donald Trump to appoint a replacement that comes anywhere close to filling the shoes of the of the forceful, fearless, and independent Brown, whose nomination by President George W. Bush to the nation’s second most influential court in 2003 was delayed for two years by Democratic opposition.

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October 28, 2014|Class Actions, Delaware corporate law, Fee Shifting Provisions, Gretchen Morgenson, Shareholder Suits

Let Corporations Shift Fees in Shareholder Suits

by John O. McGinnis|

In Sunday’s New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson bemoans the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision permitting corporations to adopt bylaws that shift the costs of unsuccessful shareholder litigation to those who bring the suit. Such rules allow a corporation that prevails in a shareholder suit against corporate malfeasance to collect attorneys’ fees.  She quotes only experts who share her views that Delaware law should be amended to prevent such fee shifting provisions.

But my initial review of the issue suggests that it would be a mistake to immediately prohibit such bylaws.  Substantial agency problems arise between the class action lawyers who typically bring such shareholder suits and the shareholders who are supposed to benefit.

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July 24, 2014|Advertising, Class Actions, Energy Star, order without law

A Star is Torn

by John O. McGinnis|

In the Energy Star Program, the Energy Department rates energy-efficient and otherwise green appliances. The New York Times has reported that government officials in charge of Energy Star did not do a good job of monitoring compliance with the program’s standards and valorized a host of products that fall far short of the proclaimed criteria. In addition, some of the companies actively misled government officials.

Trial lawyers are now in the wings, ready to sue companies that  they allege were serpentine rather than stellar.  According to the Times, a congressman who represents a district where a company that used the Energy Star program has a large factory has introduced legislation to prevent class action lawsuits from being brought in connection with the Energy Star program.

In general, I believe that class actions for failure of a product to meet its quality claims are a mistake. 

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August 26, 2013|Arbitration, Attorney Fees, Center for Class Action Fairness, Class Actions

Reforming Class Action Abuse

by Ted Frank|

This Liberty Law Talk is with Ted Frank on reforming class action litigation and, in particular, the settlements plaintiffs receive under the current system. Frank, the founder of the Center for Class Action Fairness, argues that class-action suits contribute little to plaintiffs and substantially benefit only their lawyers. Monitoring and agency problems reign because most plaintiffs lack the incentives to ensure that the class's lawyers are actually representing their interests and not the lawyer's monetary desires. We also discuss the turn to arbitration by companies as an exit from class actions and Frank's work that contests egregious attorney fee awards…

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Book Reviews

A Mirror of the 20th-Century Congress

by Joseph Postell

Wright undermined the very basis of his local popularity—the decentralized nature of the House—by supporting reforms that gave power to the party leaders.

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The Graces of Flannery O'Connor

by Henry T. Edmondson III

O'Connor's correspondence is a goldmine of piercing insight and startling reflections on everything from literature to philosophy to raising peacocks.

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Liberty Classics

Rereading Politica in the Post-Liberal Moment

by Glenn A. Moots

Althusius offers a rich constitutionalism that empowers persons to thrive alongside one another in deliberate communities.

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James Fenimore Cooper and the American Experiment

by Melissa Matthes

In The American Democrat, James Fenimore Cooper defended democracy against both mob rule and majority tyranny.

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Podcasts

Stuck With Decadence

A discussion with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat discusses with Richard Reinsch his new book The Decadent Society.

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Can the Postmodern Natural Law Remedy Our Failing Humanism?

A discussion with Graham McAleer

Graham McAleer discusses how postmodern natural law can help us think more coherently about human beings and our actions.

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Did the Civil Rights Constitution Distort American Politics?

A discussion with Christopher Caldwell

Christopher Caldwell discusses his new book, The Age of Entitlement.

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America, Land of Deformed Institutions

A discussion with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin pinpoints that American alienation and anger emerges from our weak political, social, and religious institutions.

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About

Law & Liberty’s focus is on the classical liberal tradition of law and political thought and how it shapes a society of free and responsible persons. This site brings together serious debate, commentary, essays, book reviews, interviews, and educational material in a commitment to the first principles of law in a free society. Law & Liberty considers a range of foundational and contemporary legal issues, legal philosophy, and pedagogy.

The opinions expressed on Law & Liberty are solely those of the contributors to the site and do not reflect the opinions of Liberty Fund.
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