AEI.Org: Scholar: Ted Frank

A Stimulus You Can Believe In

Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Direct costs to the United States of tort litigation are $252 billion a year. Indirect costs are far higher. Reform would boost the economy at a critical time.

The Truth Is Out There

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Every Bush administration security policy was shared with the Democratic leadership in dozens of briefings.

The TARP Trojan Horse

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The federal government learned the wrong lessons from the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s.

Malpractice in Massachusetts

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Insurance costs in Massachusetts are increasing.

The Current State of Consumer Arbitration

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

This analysis of the Public Citizen report and evidence collected in California and elsewhere reveals different and positive conclusions about the state of consumer arbitration.

Jackpot Justice Gets New Meaning

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Jackpot justice refers to courts rewarding trial lawyers with outsized judgments unrelated to any actual damages, but arecent case in Minnesota gives the phrase a whole new meaning.

The Inverted Federalism of Grider v. Compaq

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Oklahoma is on the verge of becoming the next magnet jurisdiction for overbroad consumer class actions.

Did the Right Make America a Lawsuit Nation?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

A new book acknowledges that the litigation explosion has harmed America, but it places the blame on right-wing politics.

The Era of Big Punitive Damage Awards Is Not Over

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The Supreme Court's decision in Exxon Shipping v. Baker highlights the need for legislative reform of arbitrary punitive damage awards.

Prosecutors Gone Wild

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

While Eliot Spitzer is gone, the overreaching tactics by which he made his name as a prosecutor are not.

How Bipartisan Is Obama?

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When it comes to common-sense liability reform, Barack Obama toes the trial lawyers' party line.

Blame Port Authority

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The Port Authority of New York and New Jerseywas ruled to be 68percent responsible for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

Battling Zombies

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If dead lawsuits can be brought back to life to inflict damage on defendants, the loss of legal certainty would be devastating to the ability of businesses to gauge risk.

Cy Pres Settlements

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Frank explains the problem of class action tolling in mass tort personal injury litigation.

Riverboat Poker and Paradoxes

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The announcedsettlement of the Vioxx litigationshows the weakness of the plaintiffs' claims and the weaknesses of the current pharmaceutical product liability law.

A Closer Look at John Edwards

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Former trial lawyer John Edwards's most famous and controversial case is reviewed.

Enron: Extortion, Interrupted

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Trial lawyers used the Enron scandal to successfully and legally extort billions of dollars from investment banks with a legally meritless lawsuit.

How Personal Wealth Shapes Policy

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

There is a critical distinction between Mitt Romney’s and John Edwards’s wealth.

Defending the Public Interest

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0100

This past September, the National Legal Center for the Public Interest merged with AEI to become the AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest.

West Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Learned Intermediary Rule

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0100

If West Virginia’s tort system allows absolute liability on pharmaceutical manufacturers, manufacturers may choose not toserve the state's relatively small market.

Omission in FACTA Might Be Windfall for Plaintiff's Bar

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100

As there is no cap on total recovery under FACTA, damages for a willful violation could be in the hundreds of millions.

No, It's a "Pro-Investor" Ruling

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100

The Eighth Circuit's dismissal of Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta is investor-friendly.

Pro Se's Outlandish Menu

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Delusional plaintiffs with crazy suits are just a symptom of a larger problem.

Sicko's Box Office Numbers Are Fuzzy, Too

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0100

You might be surprised at which documentaries have actually earned the most.

Arbitrary and Unfair

Thu, 31 May 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Judges and politiciansmust not allow securities litigation to continue to spiral out of control.

Prime Target

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Congress should restrict the liability of "predatory lenders" to expand credit and protect them from predatory trial lawyers.

Evil Is Always with Us

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Will the judicial system give us the means to properly fight evil?

Fen-Phen Zen

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Some of the lawyers who committed massive fraud are finally being brought to justice.

The Vioxx Litigation

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 01:00:00 +0100

What had been a trickle of litigation over Vioxx became a flood.

Mississippi Fails to Learn From History

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Following Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi was hit by an insurance storm that caused some companies to stop issuing new policies.

Exploding Pinto: One More Tall Tale from Plaintiffs Bar

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Plaintiffs lawyers have lost the public opinion war, but it is because their abuses have led them to lose the public policy debate on the merits.

Rule of Law

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0100

The trial lawyers have now enlisted themselves in the war against terror.

Big Tobacco and the Supreme Court

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0100

What will the Supreme Court decide in the upcoming Philip Morris v. Williams case?

End Open-Ended Litigation

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0100

We need laws that improve certainty, thus reducing business risk, lowering prices and creating jobs. That would do more for consumers than any class action lawsuit.

All Wet

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Taxpayers may be “soaked” by the eventual government costs of flood insurance, but that is because their elected officials have made the decision to provide the giveaway of subsidized insurance at a cost far below the risks the government assumes in offering it.

The Lieberman Purge

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Less than a quarter-century after Scoop Jackson’s death, we must now mourn the end of the Scoop Jackson Democrat.

Justice Scams

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Drug safety is important, but so are the health costs from vaccines and drugs not marketed because of liability risks.

A Taxonomy of Obesity Litigation

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Only through abuse of the class action mechanism can obesitylitigation be feasibly used by plaintiffs’ attorneys. The risk of that abuse, however, is very real.

Ernst v. Merck--One More View

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Too bad we won't be able to sue the trial lawyers when the inevitable deaths happen.

Unable Danger

Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0100

A liability concern may have left the FBI ignorant ofAtta’s al Qaeda cell’s operations in the U.S., resulting in a missed opportunity to prevent the terrible events of September 11.

The Future of Federalism

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:00:00 +0100

The Milberg Weiss Prosecution: No Harm, No Foul?

Wed, 28 May 2008 10:00:00 +0100

Off-Label Uses of Approved Drugs: Medicine, Law, and Policy

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:45:00 +0100

Federal Preemption and the Supreme Court

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:00:00 +0100

The Vioxx Settlement

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0100

Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:00:00 +0100

Annual Supreme Court Briefing

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 10:00:00 +0100

Biotechnology and the Patent System: The Economic Implications of the Proposed Patent ...

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:30:00 +0100

Medical Malpractice Insurance Studies

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:00:00 +0100

Corporate Image Advertising and the Future of Free Enterprise

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:30:00 +0100

Expert Witnesses, Adversarial Bias, and the (Partial) Failure of the Daubert Revolution

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:30:00 +0100

Is There a Constitutional Right to Medical Self-Defense?

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:15:00 +0100

Watters v. Wachovia Bank

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:00:00 +0100

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity

Tue, 23 May 2006 16:00:00 +0100

Judge and Jury: American Tort Law on Trial

Fri, 12 May 2006 11:30:00 +0100

The U.S. Senate Takes On Medical Malpractice Reform

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:00:00 +0100

The Cutter Incident

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:00:00 +0100

Medical Malpractice Liability and Physician Supply

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 10:00:00 +0100

Abortion Legalization and Crime Rates

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:00:00 +0100

Sarbanes-Oxley: What Have We Learned?

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:00:00 +0100

Will the FAIR Act Fix the Asbestos Mess?

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 14:00:00 +0100

The Medical Malpractice Myth?

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:00:00 +0100

Can Tort Reform Save Lives?

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 10:00:00 +0100

Katrina's Liability Implications

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:15:00 +0100

HR 2990

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:00:00 +0100

The $253 Million Vioxx Verdict

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:00:00 +0100

Protecting Main Street from Lawsuit Abuse

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Tort is still a tremendous drag on the American economy relative to other industrialized nations.

Paying with Their Lives: The Status of Compensation for 9/11 Health Effects

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Compensation for those injured by the Ground Zero clean-up is appropriate, but if Congress continues this program, it needs to be closely monitored for fraud and kept fair.

The Milberg Weiss Indictment and H.R. 5491

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises on issues surrounding the Milberg Weiss indictment and H.R. 5491.

The Vioxx Litigation

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0100

This installment looks at the problems presented by the Vioxx cases for the litigation system as a whole.

The Vioxx Litigation

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0100

This paper looks at the history of Vioxx and asks questions about potential over-deterrence.

The Trouble with the Civil Gideon Movement

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Aside from the tremendous cost to taxpayers, civil Gideon will be counterproductive in its supposed goals of helping the poor and making the legal system more accessible.

Zombie Litigation

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If the legislature will not act responsibly, courts should aggressively protect the constitutional rights of parties when retroactive legislation creates new liabilities for past conduct.

There Is a Role for Congress in Patent Litigation Reform

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Patent litigation is broken, and Congress is every bit as qualified as--and often more qualified than--the courts to fix it.

A Billion-Dollar "Harm-Less" Lawsuit

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Unless Congresscaps damages, many businesses may be bankrupted forminor violations of the Fair Credit Transactions Act.

Should Trial Lawyers Make Terror Policy?

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0100

The civil justice system is structured to create incentives for individuals and state governments to interfere with national policy goals.

The Roberts Court and Liability Reform

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0100

We should be cautiously optimistic about future developments as important cases about federal preemption and the scope of securities laws come before the SupremeCourt in 2007.

The Class Action Fairness Act Two Years Later

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Has the Class Action Fairness Act curbed abusive class actions, and will it do so in the future?

Rollover Economics

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Noneconomic damages should be capped and objective safety standards established in order to provide a safe harbor for manufacturers from unfair liability.

Faulty Studies from Center for Justice & Democracy Are Stunting the ...

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0100

How has the national debate over medical-malpractice and medical liability reform been affected by a set of faulty studies?

Making the FAIR Act Fair

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0100

The inauguralLiability Outlook joins AEI's series of Outlook publications.

Will the Bush Administration Cave in to Political Pressure from Trial Lawyers?

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0100

Judges and politiciansmust not allow securities litigation to continue to spiral out of control.