Litigation, Civil

Social and Ethical Implications

The costs associated with civil litigation raise serious concerns about its role in society and in business. [Page 1297]Attorney fees, costs for experts and other expenses, and the final monetary judgment, which is sometimes in the millions, even billions, of dollars can have a crippling effect on a business. Lawsuits distract attention from productivity, invade privacy, and harm reputations and relationships. Yet civil litigation appears essential to protect the rights of consumers and businesses alike. Tort reform has been proposed as a tool to limit high judgments that might devastate a business. Adversaries to such reform claim that it will diminish consumer protection rights since without the threat of severe penalties, businesses will not be as conscientious and cautious because they will be able to more easily pass on these lower court judgments to the consumer in the form of higher product prices.

Civil litigation attempts to resolve differences in a manner that protects and promotes business and social relationships. For both to operate effectively, there must be some confidence that personal and economic rights and interests will be protected. Law is a critical component of business since almost every aspect of production is regulated in some fashion. In civil litigation, the courts apply the law, the official designations of the enforceable rights and duties, to the specific circumstances between the parties in coming to a decision or judgment. The term common law refers to the judge-made law in written reported decisions. These previous judicial decisions are followed as precedent in guiding current and future decisions under the doctrine of stare decisis (let the decision stand). Thus, the litigation process and the law provide a predictability and consistency on which business and social relationships can depend and strategize.

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