Comments on Owen M. Fiss, against settlement (1984)

Fordham Law Review

Volumn 78, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 1265-1272

  Weinstein, Jack B ^a  

^a US District Court for the Eastern District of New York ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 75649131540     PISSN: 0015704X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (45)

1. RONALD C. WHITE, JR., A. LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY 210 (2009).
2. See Adam S. Zimmerman, Funding Irrationality, 59 DUKE L. J. (forthcoming Mar. 2010) (manuscript on file with the Fordham Law Review).
3. See In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 493 F. Supp. 2d 571 (E. D. N. Y. 2007).
4. ADMIN. OFFICE OF THE U. S. COURTS, JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS 2008, at 137 tbl. C, 180 tbl. C-7 (2008) (noting 2175 civil trials in federal court in twelve-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, with 267, 257 federal civil lawsuits filed during that time).
5. There are an estimated 149, 000 jury trials in state courts across the country per year; about thirty-one percent of those are civil trials. See GREGORY E. MIZE, PAULA HANNAFORD-AGER & NICOLE L. WATERS, NAT'L CTR. FOR STATE COURTS, THE STATE- OF-THE-STATES SURVEY OF JURY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS 7 & tbl.3 (2007).
6. See generally Jack B. Weinstein, Some Benefits and Risks of Privatization of Justice Through ADR, 11 OHIO ST. J. ON DISP. RESOL. 241 (1996) (describing theoretical and practical aspects of Alternative Dispute Resolution).
7. SeeCODE OF CONDUCT FOR UNITED STATES JUDGES (U. S. Judicial Conference 2009). Canon 4A (4) states, "A judge should not act as an arbitrator or mediator or otherwise perform judicial functions apart from the judge's official duties unless expressly authorized by law."
8. Id. Canon 4A (4). The Commentary to Canon 4A (4) states, "This Canon generally prohibits a judge from mediating a state court matter, except in unusual circumstances (e.g., when a judge is mediating a federal matter that cannot be resolved effectively without addressing the related state court matter)."
9. Id. Canon 4A (4) cmt. (emphasis added). This is much too narrow a view of cooperation and mediation among state and federal judges. Such coordination in resolving disputes is desirable and common.
10. See, e.g., In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 489 F. Supp. 2d 230, 237 (E. D. N. Y. 2007);
11. In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 239 F. R. D. 316 (E. D. N. Y. 2007) (including a "Communication to State Judges on Cooperation Between Federal and State Judges");
12. MANUAL FORCOMPLEX LITIGATION (FOURTH) § 20.14 (2004) (including a section on "Coordination Between Courts");
13. MANUAL FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS (1997);
14. Francis E. McGovern, Rethinking Cooperation Among Judges in Mass Tort Litigation, 44 UCLA L. REV. 1851, 1858 (1997).
15. See Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, A New Way Forward: A Response to Judge Weinstein, 2009 CARDOZO L. REV. DE NOVO 168;
16. Jack B. Weinstein, Letter to Professor Burch, 2009 CARDOZO L. REV. DE NOVO 192;
17. Jack B. Weinstein, Preliminary Reflections on Administration of Complex Litigations, 2009 CARDOZO L. REV. DE NOVO 1.
18. 347 U. S. 483 (1954).
19. WMCA, Inc. v. Lomenzo, 377 U. S. 633 (1964);
20. see also Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U. S. 533 (1964).
21. See WMCA, 377 U. S. at 634;
22. see also Reynolds, 377 U. S. at 533.
23. WMCA, 377 U. S. 633.
24. In re "Agent Orange" Prod. Liab. Litig., 580 F. Supp. 690 (E. D. N. Y. 1984).
25. See, e.g., Boyle v. United Techs. Corp., 487 U. S. 500, 504 (1988) (recognizing government contractor defense);
26. In re "Agent Orange" Prod. Liab. Litig, 373 F. Supp. 2d 7, 15-17, 24-27, 85-87 (E. D. N. Y. 2005) (applying Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. to dismiss claims of Vietnamese nationals and listing similar cases).
27. Jack B. Weinstein, Preface to THE LEGACY OF VIETNAM VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES: SURVIVORS OF WAR: CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE xi-xii (Dennis K. Rhoades et al. eds., 1995) (discussing Agent Orange Class Assistance Program (AOCAP)) [hereinafter LEGACY];
28. id. app. H, at 493-96 (listing AOCAP-sponsored social services by state).
29. See, e.g., In re Joint E. and S. Dists. Asbestos Litig., 929 F. Supp. 1 (E. & S. D. N. Y. 1996).
30. See Soc'y for Good Will to Retarded Children v. Cuomo, 745 F. Supp. 879 (E. D. N. Y. 1990) (approving settlement);
31. see also Soc'y for Good Will to Retarded Children v. Cuomo, No. 78-1847, slip op. at 1 (E. D. N. Y. June 10, 1993) (order closing case on finding that parties fully complied with terms of settlement).
32. In re DES Cases, 789 F. Supp. 552 (E. D. N. Y. 1992).
33. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., 509 U. S. 579 (1993).
34. See, e.g., In re Breast Implant Cases, 942 F. Supp. 958, 961 (E. & S. D. N. Y. 1996) (finding scientific evidence inadequate to prove breast implants caused systemic, not just localized, injuries);
35. see also Hall v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 947 F. Supp. 1387, 1402, 1453 (D. Or. 1996) (finding scientific evidence of alleged systemic harm from breast implants "speculative" and inadmissible under Daubert). The remedies in these litigations were limited to a small number of plaintiffs alleging localized, rather than systemic, injuries.
36. See, e.g., Schwab v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 449 F. Supp. 2d 992 (E. D. N. Y. 2006), rev'd sub nom. McLaughlin v. Am. Tobacco Co., 522 F.3d 215 (2d Cir. 2008).
37. See, e.g., City of New York v. A-1 Jewelry & Pawn, Inc., 247 F. R. D. 296 (E. D. N. Y. 2007).
38. See, e.g., Schwab, 449 F. Supp. 2d 992;
39. see also Amanda Bronstad, The Bloom Is off the Rose for Tobacco Claims, NAT'LL. J., Sept. 21, 2009, at 10.
40. See, e.g., A-1 Jewelry & Pawn, 247 F. R. D. 296;
41. City of New York v. Beretta U. S. A. Corp, 401 F. Supp. 2d 244 (E. D. N. Y. 2005)
42. rev'd, 524 F.3d 384 (2d Cir. 2008).
43. See John C. P. Goldberg, The Constitutional Status of Tort Law: Due Process and the Right to a Law for the Redress of Wrongs, 115 YALE L. J. 524, 541-43 (2005);
44. Jack B. Weinstein, The Role of Judges in a Government of by, and for the People: Notes for the Fifty-Eighth Cardozo Lecture, 30 CARDOZO L. REV. 1 (2008).
45. See sources cited supra note 8.