Loser Pays December 2, 2008

Organizer: Manhattan Institute. Marie Gryphon, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy, has a new report exploring the likely effects of adopting a “loser pays” rule for attorneys’ fees in the United States. Loser pays, sometimes called the “English rule” but actually, in essence, the rule in place in the rest of the world, refers to the principle that parties who lose in litigation must reimburse the winners’ legal expenses, including attorneys’ fees. This study argues that loser pays could be an important part of a larger effort to reduce litigation costs, better compensate prevailing litigants, and better align tort law with its goal of deterring socially harmful conduct. A panel of legal experts will react to Ms. Gryphon’s proposal, and award-winning ABC journalist John Stossel will discuss the broader public implications of the policy proposal.