The relationship between class actions and government makes for a nuanced and fascinating study. Government sets the scene by implementing and designing the regime, by choosing whether to act as a seed-funder for the regime, and by deciding to what extent it should regulate the regime against worldwide classes being litigated on its doorstep. It can then become a key player in the litigation itself. Government may be a representative claimant bringing the action, or a class member, or a potential financial beneficiary. Most commonly of all, it may be a defendant, being sued under the very regime which it enacted into law. With numerous opt-out class action regimes around the common law world in place, and others on the horizon, the book takes a comparative perspective throughout, and concludes with a series of recommendations, drawn from that comparative analysis of government's intricate interplay with class actions.

Class Actions and Government

Government as Class Actions Beneficiary

Government as Class Actions Designer

Government as Class Actions Funder

We present a perfect Nash equilibrium in which the creator of a work, motivated by economic considerations, selectively enforces her own copyright. In fact, the creator may not only permit, but may strategically promote infringement of the copyright, thereby participating indirectly in predatory pricing, and so raising barriers to entry. Our model is highly applicable to the software industry, where relatively high entry costs and the relatively low cost of copyright infringement make this phenomenon likely. We further show the conditions under which exogenous intervention, through intensive enforcement of copyrights, increases social welfare. Finally, we explore some potential strategies for such legal intervention.

Selective Enforcement of Copyright as an Optimal Monopolistic Behavior

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Greater Representation for California Consumers-Fluid Recovery, Consumer Trust Funds, and Representative Actions

/pdf/the-past-as-prologue-a-history-of-the-right-to-repossess-4916zctii7.pdf

The Past as Prologue: A History of the Right to Repossess

/pdf/the-personhood-argument-against-polygraph-evidence-or-even-1dwmvy9krk.pdf

The Personhood Argument against Polygraph Evidence, Or Even if the Polygraph Really Works, Will Courts Admit the Results

/pdf/minnesota-v-philip-morris-inc-an-important-legal-ethics-13utiuxeqw.pdf

Minnesota v. Philip Morris, Inc.: An Important Legal Ethics Message Which Neglects the Public Interest in Product Safety Research

/pdf/a-basic-concern-for-process-commentary-on-quo-vadis-24n0ubqtw6.pdf

James R. McCall

Papers

Greater Representation for California Consumers-Fluid Recovery, Consumer Trust Funds, and Representative Actions

The Past as Prologue: A History of the Right to Repossess

The Personhood Argument against Polygraph Evidence, Or Even if the Polygraph Really Works, Will Courts Admit the Results

Minnesota v. Philip Morris, Inc.: An Important Legal Ethics Message Which Neglects the Public Interest in Product Safety Research

A Basic Concern for Process: Commentary on Quo Vadis, Prospective Overruling