Global Forum Shopping

Research & Studies

• Think Globally, Sue Locally: Out-of-Court Tactics Employed by Plaintiffs, Their Lawyers, and Their Advocates in Transnational Tort Cases
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  June 21, 2010
  
  

  This new study documents how plaintiffs’ attorneys and advocates are working with foreign plaintiffs and employing a common set of aggressive, out-of-court tactics that approach, straddle and sometimes cross ethical lines to gain litigation advantages against transnational companies. The first-of-its-kind study, released June 21, 2010 by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), also shows a dramatic increase in the number of global tort claims or transnational tort cases filed in the U.S. against American companies for alleged injuries that occur abroad. 

• A Brief Synopsis of Think Globally, Sue Locally: Out-of-Court Tactics Employed by Plaintiffs, Their Lawyers, and Their Advocates in Transnational Tort Cases
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  June 21, 2010
  
  Over the past 15 years, there has been a sharp rise of lawsuits brought against United States companies, as well as foreign companies with a substantial U.S. presence, that are premised on alleged personal or environmental injuries that occur overseas. Most of those transnational tort lawsuits have been filed in the United States by plaintiffs’ class action firms, public interest attorneys, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), while a growing number of notable actions also have been filed in foreign courts, with the plaintiffs seeking to obtain judgments they can enforce in the United States. With increasing frequency, plaintiffs, their attorneys and their advocates are employing aggressive out-of-court tactics that approach, straddle and sometimes cross ethical lines in seeking to gain litigation advantages. Think Globally, Sue Locally studies the trends associated with those tactics.
• Third Party Financing: Ethical and Legal Ramifications in Collective Actions
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  November 19, 2009
  
  This paper begins with an overview of third party litigation financing. It next examines the current third party financing practices of a number of European jurisdictions. Then, it sets forth ILR’s critique of the practice, particularly the incentives it creates to engage in frivolous and abusive litigation. ILR also presents a case study of the Commonwealth of Australia, the first jurisdiction to permit third party litigation funding, where such funding has dramatically increased litigation and given investors pervasive — even total — control over a claimant’s case. Finally, the paper concludes that such funding should be prohibited altogether in collective litigation.
• ADR as a Superior Mechanism for Redressing Consumer Harms in Europe
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  October 13, 2008
  
  In view of the many disadvantages of class actions, the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform commissioned this paper to study alternatives that could better serve the interests of European consumers. Fortunately, several alternatives already exist that, with minor adjustment, can respond to the concerns of those who advocate the adoption of U.S.-style class actions in Europe. Small claims procedures, arbitration and mediation are but some of the possible alternatives. Moreover, if the European Community or its individual members were unfortunately to decide to adopt a class actions system, then at least one of the proposed alternatives – mediation – should be made a mandatory part of any class-action system at an early stage in the proceedings.
• The Globalisation of Class Actions: Safeguards to Curb Litigation Abuse
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  August 1, 2008
  
  In recent years, there has been a pronounced trend at both the European Union and Member State level toward adopting class action rules and other aggregate litigation devices. Class action proponents have argued that such mechanisms will promote judicial economy and ensure that injured parties have an effective means of obtaining redress. Although these advocates for class actions recognise that the class action device has been subject to significant abuse in the United States, they generally dismiss the prospect of similar abuse occurring in Europe. Such a potential future, however, needs to be taken seriously – the U.S. experience with class actions demonstrates how such mechanisms can be easily exploited when there are no structural safeguards against misuse.
• Objectif: L'Europe
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  December 11, 2007
  
  L’ILR travaille en collaboration avec des partenaires qui partagent ses opinions au sein de l’industrie européenne pour lancer une action concertée à multiples facettes visant à sensibiliser les responsables politiques et personnalités influentes des pays européens aux dangers que présenterait l’adoption du modèle américain, en particulier en matière d’actions collectives. L’ILR a collaboré avec le MEDEF et d’autres organisations patronales européennes et contribué ainsi à la défaite d’une proposition de loi relative aux actions collectives en France et d’autres initiatives politiques dans toute l’Europe. L’ILR continuera à explorer les possibilités d’encouragement des milieux patronaux européens à s’engager dans la lutte contre ces développements et de sensibilisation des responsables politiques aux ramifications d’une adoption du concept d’action collective et d’autres caractéristiques du modèle juridique américain.
• Objetivo: Europa
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  December 11, 2007
  
  EL ILR está trabajando con socios de ideas similares de la industria europea para realizar un esfuerzo coordinado en varios frentes a fin de educar a los gestores de política y a los líderes de opinión europeos sobre los peligros de adoptar características de la litigación estilo EE.UU., particularmente las demandas colectivas. El ILR ha colaborado con MEDEF y otras organizaciones de empresarios basadas en Europa para ayudar a derrotar la propuesta de demandas colectivas de Francia y otras propuestas de política en toda Europa. El ILR seguirá buscando oportunidades en Europa para fomentar la participación de la comunidad de empresarios a combatir estos avances y a buscar oportunidades para educar a los gestores de política sobre las ramificaciones de adoptar demandas colectivas y otras características de litigación estilo EE.UU.
• Obiettivo: Europa
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  December 11, 2007
  
  L’ILR sta collaborando con partner europei di opinioni analoghe al lancio di un’iniziativa coordinata e poliedrica volta ad istruire opinionisti e legislatori del vecchio continente sui pericoli dell’adozione di un contenzioso di tipo americano, specialmente per quanto riguarda le azioni collettive. L’ILR lavora fianco a fianco con il MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) ed altre organizzazioni commerciali europee per aiutare a debellare la proposta sulle azioni collettive in Francia ed altre proposte in tutto il continente. L’ILR continuerà a cercare, in Europa, modi di incoraggiare la comunità commerciale a lottare contro questi sviluppi e di mettere in guardia i legislatori sulle ripercussioni delle azioni collettive e di altri aspetti del contenzioso all’americana.
• Target: Europe
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  October 3, 2007
  
  ILR is working with like-minded partners from European industry to launch a coordinated, multifaceted effort to educate European policymakers and opinion leaders about the dangers of adopting U.S.-style litigation features, particularly class actions. ILR has been working with MEDEF and other Europe-based business organizations to help defeat France’s class action proposal and other policy proposals throughout Europe. ILR will continue to seek out opportunities in Europe to encourage business community engagement in combating these developments and look for opportunities to educate policymakers about the ramifications of adopting class actions and other U.S.-style litigation features.
• On the Road to Litigation Abuse: The Continuing Export of U.S. Class Action and Antitrust Law
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  October 1, 2006
  
  
• Fulbright & Jaworski: Third Annual Litigation Trends Survey Findings
  Fulbright & Jaworski  |  April 8, 2006
  
  
• Expanding Private Causes of Action: Lessons from the U.S. Litigation Experience
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  September 1, 2005
  
  
• Expanding Private Causes of Action: Lessons from the U.S. Litigation Experience (Executive Summary)
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  September 1, 2005
  
  
• Coalition to Curb Global Forum Shopping (Brochure)
  Coalition to Curb Global Forum Shopping  |  June 1, 2004
  
  
• Global Forum Shopping: An International Dilemma
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  March 25, 2004
  
  
• The Teeming Shore: Plaintiffs Around the Globe Use U.S. Courts to Target Business
  Institute for Legal Reform  |  March 25, 2004