Settling with one defendant can be worth less than the case it removes

Evidence

In spite of all the talk about billion-dollar settlements and “astronomical” verdicts, this was an offer that Schlichtmann had to consider carefully. His firm was deeply in debt. He could use the Beatrice money to finance the trial against Grace, and at the same time put a substantial sum into the hands of the families. Furthermore, getting rid of Beatrice also meant getting rid of Facher, who had proven to be his strongest adversary. Without Facher to complicate matters, the trial against Grace would no doubt be simpler, and probably clearer and more compelling for a jury of ordinary citizens. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 1687

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the litigation-strategy material on why parties settle and how removing one adversary reshapes a trial. — connects to: A dead child is worth less to a jury than a dead breadwinner. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action , 1144; Trial’s availability as a fallback shapes settlement bargaining in civil cases — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2162; Settlement terms can be engineered to publicly obscure a defendant’s guilt — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2600 (+15 more)

Broader Connections

• Risk and expense of trial drive both sides toward settlement #corroborates (0.95) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 361
• Trial’s availability as a fallback shapes settlement bargaining in civil cases #expands (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2162
• Settlement and plea bargaining are priced by the anticipated trial outcome #expands (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1256
• Case negotiations occur in the shadow of the law set by trial outcomes #expands (0.85)
• Settling a case after a favorable verdict can be experienced as a death #complicates (0.80) — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2858
• Most civil cases are settled rather than adjudicated through trial #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1045
• Settlement terms can be engineered to publicly obscure a defendant’s guilt #complicates (0.75) — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2600
• Elevating a single case holding to a principle causes improper legal breadth. #complicates (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 136
• Severity of charges drives defendants toward trial or negotiated pleas #complicates (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1664
• Pending separate lawsuits do not defeat the finality of a judgment in one action #complicates (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1153
• Trivial threshold changes can slash a case population while barely losing real disputes #complicates (0.75) — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 1492
• Reducing lawyers and loser-pays costs could restore court trust #complicates (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1841
• Litigated cases self-select to those where both sides have plausible legal arguments #complicates (0.75) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 253
• Juries may convict of lesser crimes than evidence warrants through sympathy #complicates (0.75) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 1741
• Law and equity powers differ by the remedy a judge provides #complicates (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 184