Principles of the Law: Aggregate Litigation
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Description
Aggregate Litigation, including class actions, is a significant part of the American legal system. Important social values require aggregate litigation for their achievement. Some legitimate interests cannot be protected and certain wrongdoers cannot be deterred through individual lawsuits. Yet aggregate litigation challenges procedural norms that have evolved over many centuries of common law adjudication of disputes between two individuals. Half a dozen years ago, a small group of distinguished judges, academics, and lawyers, all experienced in class action litigation, happened to be present at an ALI meeting. After some discussion, they unanimously told me that the Institute could contribute significantly by promulgating Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation. They also told me that Professor Samuel Issacharoff of New York University was the best person in the country to lead the effort. I, no expert on this subject, accepted this advice, although I was worried that the project might engender unproductive dissonance between those who represent class action plaintiffs and those who speak for defendants. Now, with the project completed, I know that I received excellent advice. Sam Issacharoff accepted this challenge. He recruited three outstanding helpers, Dean Robert Klonoff and Professors Richard Nagareda and Charles Silver. First-class groups of Advisers and ALI members reviewed multiple drafts and provided helpful comments, as well as criticism that was almost always constructive. As we proudly publish this work, it is already clear that American courts are citing the recommended Principles and that law-reformers in Europe and Asia are finding the Principles useful as their countries consider procedural changes that would increase the use of collective lawsuits. This project has progressed more quickly than most of ALI's work, yet with no compromise of the Institute's traditional procedures for full debate and discussion. The efficiency of the work is largely the result of the intense commitment of the four Reporters. We are immensely grateful to them and to all who have advised them. We also thank LexisNexis Group for its generous financial support to this important project. . . . This has been a long and difficult undertaking for us. We came to this project familiar with the high-profile cases that dominate the field and with the academic debates that inform further analysis. Five years later, we conclude the project with a far greater appreciation for the difficulties of reconciling the demands of mass society with the rights and procedures generated by a long legal tradition in what were often far simpler times. . . . One of the difficulties in attempting to state the Principles of this area of law is the reality of the practice and the stakes in the underlying disputes. The bar is split between those on the plaintiff side and those on the defense side. The size of the cases and the difficulty of the law have created a relatively concentrated bar of extraordinarily skilled attorneys, a group of deeply involved judges, and some truly knowledgeable academics. From the beginning, the ALI sought to draw important representatives of all of these groups into this project as Advisers. Over the past five years, the participation and support of this group have been key to our being able even to get this project off the ground. In addition, we had the good fortune to benefit from the well-attended, well-informed, and lively meetings of the Members Consultative Group.
Publication Date
2010
Recommended Citation
Issacharoff, Samuel; Klonoff, Robert H.; Nagareda, Richard A.; and Silver, Charles, "Principles of the Law: Aggregate Litigation" (2010). Faculty Books & Edited Works. 428.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-books-edited-works/428
