How much of an outlier was Justice Scalia? Evidence suggests an extreme one, at least for some classes of cases, such as class actions. The point is made by Dow Chemical. It just gave up on an appeal to SCOTUS, and explicitly explained it settled now because of the death of Justice Scalia. The appeal was filed after Dow lost about $1 billion in a class action trial, and also lost at the intermediate appellate court.
A key quote from a law professor: “Companies whose positions are based more on political philosophy than on interpretation of the law worry when the majority philosophy in sway at the court changes,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s business and law schools who teaches classes on mass torts and class-action cases.”
The Wall Street Journal Law blog also has a February 26, 2016 post on the settlement, with some links.
A take away? Extremist judges – on either side – can have high value in the litigation industry.
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