The Nontrial Adversarial Model: Complex Litigation at the Millennium

Authors

Joel Seligman, Washington University in St. Louis School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2001

Publication Title

Law and Contemporary Problems

Abstract

During the past two decades, a non-trial adversarial model has evolved for deciding private securities law claims. Underlying this evolution are three different types of dynamics: (1) a dramatic growth in the size of securities class actions, epitomized by the Washington Public Power Supply System litigation of the 1980s and the Court’s approval of the fraud-on-the-market presumption, rather than a requirement of individual proof of fraud, in Basic, Inc. v Levinson; (2) a significant growth in the cost and litigation leverage of discovery; and (3) a fundamental shift in the political orientation of Congress in securities litigation, illustrated by the gravitation from unanimous support for greater insider trading penalties during the 1980s to the hostility toward plaintiffs’ attorneys after the 1994 congressional election.

Keywords

Private Security Claims, Complex Litigation, Securities Class Actions

Publication Citation

Joel Seligman, The Nontrial Adversarial Model: Complex Litigation at the Millennium, 64 Law and Contemp. Probs. 97 (2001)

Repository Citation

Seligman, Joel, "The Nontrial Adversarial Model: Complex Litigation at the Millennium" (2001). Scholarship@WashULaw. 755.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_scholarship/755