Beck/Herrmann & Beisner on New ALI Draft Principles of Aggregate Litigation

Beck/Hermann of Drug and Device Law summarize a letter from John Beisner (O’Melveny) commenting on the new ALI Draft Principles of Aggregate Litigation.  Beisner’s objections to class actions are all well made.  I would add that pinning the claims of an entire class and the fate of an entire industry on a single class-action jury verdict is bad policy, in light of the evidence of verdict variability — as I argue in a forthcoming Temple Law Review article.  Rather, I would favor the collective wisdom of multiple individual-plaintiff juries as a more reliable method to price claims for far-reaching settlements that also achieve the efficiency sought by class actions.   

BGS