Media and Litigation
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Gil S. Epstein
Abstract
In this paper we consider the relationship between the media and the outcome of civil litigation. We present a model dividing lawsuits into two main stages: a signaling stage and a rent-seeking contest. During the first stage the judge is exposed to signals regarding the true position of the defendant, and in addition pays attention to signals reported by the media. The judge forms an initial prejudice towards the plaintiff and the defendant based on the ratio between the true merit of the case and the burden of proof required to establish the plaintiff’s claim (the preponderance of the evidence). Then, we turn to the second stage and provide the plaintiff and the defendant with an opportunity to invest resources in order to influence their winning probabilities. We show how the media can influence the process with biased reports.
©2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Introduction: CESifo Conference in Law and Economics - Munich, May 2010
- Damages for Breach of Duty in Corporate Disclosure
- 'Take It or Go to Court': The Impact of Sec. 1a of the German Protection Against Dismissal Act on Severance Payments
- Interjurisdictional Linkages and the Scope for Interventionist Legal Harmonization
- The Law and Economics Analysis of Intellectual Property: Paradigmatic Shift From Incentives to Traditional Property
- Class Actions, Compliance and Moral Cost
- The Law and Economics of Enhancing Cartel Enforcement: Using Information From Non-Cartel Investigations to Prosecute Cartels
- Media and Litigation
- Shooting Rampages and Maintenance of Campus Safety: An Incomplete Contracts Perspective
- Competition, Imitation, and R&D Productivity in a Growth Model with Industry-Specific Patent Protection
