March 29, 2007

Regular Point of Law contributor Michael Krauss has a new paper out from the Washington Legal Foundation (PDF) with the title: "Liggett Group v. Engle: Florida High Court's Imperfect Response to Class Action Abuse". Opening paragraph:

In Liggett Group v. Engle: A Case Study of Class Action Abuse1 this author argued that a Florida trial court judgment against tobacco companies was a poster child for national class action reform. That judgment was struck down in its entirety by a panel of Florida's intermediate appellate court. Now Round 3, the final round, of this torts boxing match has just been completed before Florida's highest court. Who won this bout? Though the decision was a mixed one, with both sides able to claim they scored major points, in the end result the plaintiffs may have won a long-term victory.

I've written extensively about the Engle outrage myself, including WSJ op-eds here, here and here, as well as Overlawyered coverage.