Americans' Appetite for Litigation: An Empirical Perspective

Despite conventional wisdom surrounding the general notions about Americans' appetite for litigation, surprisingly few approach the question with empirical rigor. Those that do approach the question empirically quickly confront a paucity of helpful data. Eric Rasmusen (IU-Bloomington, Business) and Mark Ramseyer (Harvard) take up the question in Are Americans More Litigious? Some Quantitative Evidence. What they find is that "The data themselves indicate that American law’s notoriety does not result from how we handle routine disputes. Instead, it results from the peculiar and dysfunctional way American courts handle particular legal doctrines like class actions." The authors' recommendations for reform include: "Focus not on litigation as a whole; but on areas of law where America is unique."