Tort Reform
Learning from Asbestos Lawsuits

Led by President George W. Bush, the call for dramatic reform of the U.S. tort system has become louder in recent months. Within this context, Anup Malani, associate professor of law at the University of Virginia, and Charles H. Mullin, an economist at Bates White, will present their recent study on liability in asbestos-related lawsuits. The authors found that many companies bankrupted by lawsuits have passed their asbestos liabilities to their co-defendants. Malani and Mullin estimate that this insurance system for plaintiffs adds twenty-three to sixty-six cents in bankruptcy costs for every dollar awarded in compensation. Panelists John E. Calfee of AEI and Francis McGovern of the Duke University School of Law will discuss the authors' findings; AEI's Veronique de Rugy will moderate.

About the Author

 

John E.
Calfee
  • Economist John E. Calfee (1941-2011) studied the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the economics of tobacco, tort liability, and patents. He previously worked at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics. He had also taught marketing and consumer behavior at the business schools of the University of Maryland at College Park and Boston University. While Mr. Calfee's writings are mostly on pharmaceutical markets and FDA regulation, his academic articles and opinion pieces covered a variety of topics, from patent law and tort liability to advertising and consumer information. His books include Prices, Markets, and the Pharmaceutical Revolution (AEI Press, 2000) and Biotechnology and the Patent System (AEI Press, 2007). Mr. Calfee wrote regularly for AEI's Health Policy Outlook series. He testified before Congress and federal agencies on various topics, including alcohol advertising; biodefense vaccine research; international drug prices; and FDA oversight of drug safety.

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