Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1993

Keywords

Determinants of products liability appeals, Determinants of success on appeal, Predictors of success on appeal, Appellate outcomes, Empirical legal studies

Disciplines

Applied Statistics | Civil Procedure | Torts

Abstract

This article analyzes 1,100 opinions to find the determinants of products liability cases on appeal in state and federal courts. The strongest predictor of plaintiff success on appeal is whether the plaintiff prevailed in a jury trial. Other important factors are the defendant's status as manufacturer, wholesaler, or successor corporation; the plaintiffs degree of injury; and whether the case involved a failure-to-warn claim. The existence of a comparative negligence regime increases the tendency of appellate courts to affirm lower courts. These results allow rejection of a simple model in which pre- and posttrial settlement behavior filters out cases in which the results are clear. Under such a model, only a residue of close cases remains with no clear reason to expect results highly favorable either to products liability plaintiffs or defendants. Despite the importance of the processes that filter appeals, some identifiable factors still influence appeals.

Publication Citation

Published in: Justice System Journal, vol. 62, no. 2 (1993).

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