The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform has released a report examining the developing lawsuit “ecosystem” and areas of litigation of most concern to the business community. The report examines the trends and players in six key litigation areas, offers insights into new emerging liability threats, and explores the growing alliance between state attorneys general and the plaintiffs’ bar.  One key feature notes how alleged deceptive marketing claims against food and beverage makers are on the rise.  Readers will recall our many posts about the trend for plaintiffs to parse labels and bring putative class actions even when they were not injured by the product. The report is entitled “The New Lawsuit Ecosystem.”

The report delves into the areas of law where entrepreneurial plaintiffs’ lawyers have been prospecting for new liability: Class actions against food makers alleging misleading advertising;
Data privacy suits against businesses over allegations that they inadvertently violated released or misused customer information; Claims against brand-name drug manufacturers for injuries allegedly stemming solely from generic products they did not make or sell; Speculative theories of liability seeking to recover for risks of harm or “economic loss,” not actual injuries.

The report also looks at the increasingly troubling trend of state attorneys general turning over the keys to their offices and litigation powers to private plaintiffs’ lawyers. Plaintiffs’ lawyers often develop the legal theories, decide whom to target, and then “recruit” state attorneys general
to retain them on a contingency fee basis to bring the lawsuits. This process provides significant advantages to plaintiffs’ lawyers: it eliminates the need to represent individuals who were actually injured by a defendants’ product or conduct; avoids any contribution those individuals may have
made to their own injuries; reduces traditional defenses; heightens the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ subpoena power; and gives them the ability to seek fines, not just damages. State attorneys general have these powers because they are to be used sparingly, and only to advance appropriate public policies. They are not to be used to maximize personal profit, which is the goal
of private contingency fee lawyers who are often personal or political allies of the state attorneys general.

Very interesting read.

Among those contributing to the report were my colleagues Mark Behrens, Phil Goldberg, Victor E. Schwartz and Cary Silverman.