The 35th Annual Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims featured a panel on “Streamlining Low Economic Value Cases.” Marzulla Law partner Nancie Marzulla joined a number of attorneys on the panel:
- John F. Anderson, U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Clark S. Cheney, Chief Judge, International Trade Commission
- Brian E. Ferguson, Partner, Winston & Strawn, LLP
- Martin F. Hockey, Jr., Deputy Director, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice
- Dennis Barghaan, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia
- Nancie Marzulla, Founding Partner, Marzulla Law
In her remarks, Nancie Marzulla discussed the issue of low economic value cases before the Court:
“Our firm handles large, high-dollar, complex cases in this court involving constitutional takings claims, breach of federal contract claims, large class-action back-pay claims, and breach of trust claims on behalf of tribes and their members. However, we also represent clients whose claims seek recovery of significantly lower dollar amounts for a breach of contract or for an unconstitutional taking of their property rights.
It is that latter category of cases that we handle that would most obviously benefit from having a process in place that would allow them to get more quickly and directly to the liability issue, and to move quickly into a damages determination. A streamlined litigation process would greatly benefit these clients because many of their cases are already on the borderline in making the cost-benefit calculus work for seeking relief.
“A streamlined litigation process would greatly benefit these clients because many of their cases are already on the borderline in making the cost-benefit calculus work for seeking relief.”
And, the longer a case drags on, the more the case the costs mount up. Likewise, the longer a case drags and gets more expensive for a smaller client, the more we wind up cutting our bills, donating our services, or presenting tough litigation choices for the client that turn on costs, not achieving the right outcome.
So I heartily endorse this proposal to consider a streamlined litigation process for low-value cases. But I also believe that streamlining the litigation process would benefit all clients, regardless of the case value. And, in the spirit of Professor Cass Sunstein, who spoke at last year’s judicial conference, there are some possible structural barriers, or sludge, under our current rules that lead to extended litigation of some cases.”
