 2016 - 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1411-7094-01 | Class Actions and Other Private Enforcement Mechanisms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF LAW | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 4.0
Course description
Class Actions and Other Private Enforcement Mechanisms - Dr. Shay N. Lavie
A plaintiff who files a lawsuit vindicates her rights, but she also serves the public interest in enforcing the law—private enforcement. Indeed, there are various such mechanisms: from more effective use of lawyers and NGOs to mass torts and class actions—the most notable instrument for private enforcement. This seminar will discuss these mechanisms, focusing on class actions, which eiliminate the gaps between small plaintiffs and large defendants and enable the vindication of rights otherwise not worth pursuing. The first part of the seminar will examine these tools and their advantages and disadvantages as private enforcement instruments. Can we trust the plaintiff who uses these mechanisms? In the context of class actions, how can we overcome the conflicts between the individual plaintiffs’ incentives and the class’s interests? How can the plaintiffs prove, in an aggregate manner, their individual cases? How can defendants avoid frivolous class actions? The second part of the seminar will discuss the integration of private and public enforcement, i.e., public agencies enforcing the law. What are the advantages and disadvantages of private enforcement, through courts, compared to public enforcement? Are there good ways to integrate public and private enforcement? This part will also discuss less familiar tools—such as bounties for whistleblowers and qui tam suits—that require cooperation between private plaintiffs and government agencies. Throughout the course we will draw on the ways in which the U.S. legal system copes with similar issues.