Recently, investors have asserted that firms' loss contingency disclosures are not adequate to allow them to assess the likelihood of material losses due to litigation (i.e., litigation risk), and a debate has developed over whether the threshold for disclosure should be lowered to provide investors with more information relating to litigation. Using an experiment, I investigate two unintended consequences of lowering a disclosure threshold, as the FASB has recently proposed. First, I find that adding low probability lawsuits to the disclosure of reasonably possible lawsuits lowers prospective investors' perceptions of litigation risk relating to the disclosure, even though more lawsuits are disclosed. Second, lowering the threshold allows firms to portray the entire disclosure opportunistically, diverting attention from higher probability to lower probability lawsuits. I find evidence that firms can use such an opportunistic presentation under a lower threshold to their advantage. Specifically, prospective investors' and even short investors' perceptions were just as favorable to the firm as long investors' when the disclosure threshold was lower and firms adopted an opportunistic disclosure strategy. Thus, my findings suggest that the FASB's proposal to require disclosure of lower probability loss contingencies may have unintended consequences for investors' perceptions of firms' loss exposure.

This dissertation examines the litigation and legal liability exposure of auditors related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Three separate studies were conducted to examine how auditor's litigation exposure is evaluated by potential litigants (lawyers), and how auditor liability is evaluated by jurors, following the bankruptcy of a client. The first study examines whether the auditor's SOX Section 404 reporting decisions influence lawyers' assessments of their litigation exposure. The second study investigates whether voluntary disclosures of significant deficiencies in internal controls within the SOX Section 404 report, and the subjectivity of the internal control judgments made by the auditor, influence jurors' perceptions of auditor liability for negligence. The third study examines how the requirements of SOX Section 302 related to audit committee independence and audit committee expertise influence jurors' perceptions of auditor independence and auditor liability for negligence. Overall, these three studies provide insights on how different provisions of SOX, specifically the Section 404 report and audit committee requirements, influence the likelihood that auditors will be sued and the likelihood that they will be held liable by a jury.

No description available.

The following research completes several statistical analyses of per pupil expenditure data in the Commonwealth of Virginia to assess the degree of fiscal equity in the statewide finance model for public elementary and secondary education. Five years, between 2004 and 2020, were selected for analysis to examine whether trends noted in a 2005 study of fiscal equity in Virginia have remained constant or whether the degree of equity has increased or decreased. A historical overview of the funding of public schools in Virginia and revisions to the Virginia Constitution and its Education Articles provide information about the development of public education in Virginia. This commentary is followed by an explanation of the current funding model, Standards of Quality formula, and legislative criticism of the design elements thereof. School finance reform litigation from across the nation is then reviewed to demonstrate how the constitutionality of state public school finance models has been challenged in both federal and state courts over time. The school finance litigation discussion begins with the broad topic of equal protection guarantees in the federal Constitution and how those guarantees shaped early equity lawsuits. A survey of school finance reform cases is presented to show a progression from equity suits to adequacy suits. The litigation commentary concludes with a discussion of the most recent school finance case in Virginia, Scott v. Commonwealth (1994). After establishing the precedents for the analysis of state funding models, a series of dispersion statistics are calculated based on per pupil expenditures for each of the 132 school divisions in Virginia. These statistics include Range, Restricted Range, Coefficient of Variation, Gini Coefficient, and McLoone Index. The findings of the 2004-2020 analyses are compared to the findings of the 2005 study of fiscal equity in Virginia. The noted results of the analyses have implications for policy makers in the Commonwealth. / Doctor of Education / The following research completes statistical analyses of educational spending data to assess equity in the statewide finance model for public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Five years—2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020—were selected for analysis to examine whether trends noted in a 2005 study of fiscal equity in Virginia have continued or whether the degree of equity has increased or decreased. A historical overview of the funding of public schools in Virginia and revisions to the Virginia Constitution and its Education Articles provide information about the development of public education in Virginia. This commentary is followed by an explanation of the current funding model (the Standards of Quality formula), legislative criticism of the formula, and an overview of school finance reform litigation from across the nation. The school finance litigation discussion begins with equal protection guarantees and develops to show a progression from cases that challenge equity in funding to cases that challenge the adequacy of funding. The litigation commentary concludes with a discussion of the most recent school finance case in Virginia, Scott v. Commonwealth (1994). After establishing the precedents for the analysis of state funding models, a series of statistics are calculated based on per pupil expenditures for each of the 132 school divisions in Virginia. The findings of the 2004-2020 analyses are compared to the findings of the 2005 study of fiscal equity in Virginia. The noted results of the analyses have implications for policy makers in the Commonwealth.

Water is one of, if not the most, valued natural resource on the planet. Over the years, the quality of Earth's waters has deteriorated primarily due to pollution. All ecosystems are highly dependent on this resource, which makes it very important to protect water from unnecessary pollution. One ecosystem that has been greatly affected by pollution, mainly as a result from runoff of fertilizers used by farmers in the region, has been the Everglades located in south Florida. As a result, the protection and desire to restore this ecosystem has become the subject for litigation in recent years. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians is the chief litigant for the pursuit for improved water quality due to their dependence on the water of the Everglades for survival. This thesis will examine the Everglades in its entirety by providing a history of the establishment of the Everglades as well as a description of the Everglades ecosystem and the water quality. The thesis will then introduce the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians and how they have become dependent on the Everglades ecosystem. Finally, the thesis will examine the involvement of the state and federal government in the issue of water quality through various agencies and pieces of legislation. The purpose of this thesis is to then analyze several cases in which the Miccosukee Tribe has been an interested party and sought to achieve improvements for the water quality of the Everglades. In addition to the original cases, the thesis will provide subsequent case history through its most current status. The thesis will explain whether the Miccosukee Tribe has been successful in its attempt to provide strict standards for water quality and hold those in violation of these standards responsible for their actions.

Traces the inter-related histories of the eugenics movement and birth control, with an emphasis on abortion. Discusses Sarah Weddington's arguments and the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v Wade. Straws the eugenic influences in the case and asserts that these influences caused the decision to be less than decisive.

O Brasil tem visto um forte processo de judicialização de sua vida pública. Hoje, a Justiça exerce um papel político importante no país, mas é marcada pela ineficiência na solução de disputas e cobrança de créditos. Críticas à expansão desse papel político são, pois, abundantes. Diz-se que (i) geraria instabilidade institucional e um ambiente hostil ao desenvolvimento (crítica institucional); (ii) produziria resultados ilegítimos (preferências judiciais substituiriam decisões majoritárias - crítica de legitimidade) e (iii) resultaria em ações inefetivas, pois o aparato das cortes não é adequado a resolver conflitos policêntricos e prospectivos (crítica instrumental). Este trabalho analisa o processo brasileiro de judicialização e os argumentos centrais da crítica instrumental. Sugere que ela refere-se a um modelo de direito e justiça que está em transformação. No modelo emergente, a justiça distributiva é reintroduzida na dinâmica legal e a administração de interesses sobrepuja, aos poucos, a tutela de direitos. Essas mudanças, mais a judicialização, levam a alterações importantes no processo judicial. Reconhecendo os problemas daí decorrentes, a tese sugere um caráter virtuoso desse novo contencioso de direito público emergente. Ele parece forjar um mecanismo de reforço de participação política que pode avançar a democracia e melhorar condições de igualdade política. / From democratization in the mid 80? on, Brazilian public life has been forced into an increasingly intense process of judicialization. Lack of confidence in representative institutions, a very open-texted charter of social and economic rights, an important political use of the Judiciary by the oppositions, and other related factors seem to be implicated in this. Brazilian justice holds today a considerable political power, but that is just part of a story. It is also astonishingly inefficient as a services provider, and fails to respond to most of its dispute-solving and credit-enforcement functions. Criticism about the expansion of the political role of the Judiciary in this context is profuse. First, it is said to generate institutional instability, which in turn would bring out a hostile environment for economic growth. Second, it is said to be illegitimate, as far as politicized judges may often replace majoritarian decisions by their own. Third, it is said that litigation involving political issues and social reform tend to be erratic and ineffective, because the institutional designs of both courts and their processes are not adequate to regulate polycentric and prospective conflicts. This work puts Brazilian judicialization into context, and analyses the main arguments of the institutional capacity critique (which is called in here the instrumental critique). The author suggests that the instrumental critique refers to a certain model of law and justice that has been changing (both globally and in Brazil) since the end of the last century. In the emergent model, distributive justice is reintroduced into the dynamics of law, and the administration of diffuse interests slowly replaces the adjudication of individual rights as the paradigmatic activity of the Judiciary. Those changes in both law and justice, along with judicialization, are argued to have lead to other important changes in the design of the judicial process in Brazil. Despite the many problems related to those changes, the ending notes of this work point to a possible virtuous character of the new Brazilian public law litigation. As stated herein, this litigation seems to be creating a participation-reinforcing device that in the long run may foster democracy and political equality.

En une décennie, le Conseil d’État a profondément modifié les termes de la contestation juridictionnelle des contrats des personnes publiques. À une politique de stabilisation formelle de la chose contractée, agissant sur l’accès au juge du contrat, a succédé une politique de stabilisation matérielle. Le recul du principe d’irrecevabilité des conclusions d’annulation dirigées contre le contrat s’est accompagné d’une rigidification du prononcé de l’annulation. La mise en évidence d’une irrégularité propre à justifier la disparition rétroactive du contrat de l’acte a été volontairement compliquée.Chaque étape de l’instance est affectée par le phénomène de stabilisation. À tous les moments de l’examen du contrat, des techniques juridictionnelles sont susceptibles d’écarter le risque d’annulation rétroactive de l’acte. En cela, la stabilisation est transversale.La doctrine a maintes fois souligné ses manifestations au stade de la sanction du contrat. Dorénavant, en présence d’une irrégularité, le juge du contrat dispose de pouvoirs de sanction différenciés et adaptés à la gravité du vice. En conséquence, le contrat vicié n’est plus nécessairement exposé à l’annulation. Les pouvoirs de sanction qui autorisent un maintien partiel ou total du contrat irrégulier sont caractéristiques de la stabilisation palliative. Mais le conditionnement du régime de l’action contentieuse affecte également l’examen juridictionnel stricto sensu. Le droit de critique du contrat s’exerce à présent dans un périmètre plus réduit qu’auparavant. C’est ainsi que d’autres procédés juridictionnels agissent sur la caractérisation de l’irrégularité. Ils ont pour effet de repousser la déclaration d’irrégularité. Dans cette perspective, la stabilisation est préventive.L’ouvrage propose une étude d’ensemble du phénomène stabilisateur. Suivant la chronologie du procès fait au contrat, la stabilisation préventive est appréhendée avant la stabilisation palliative du contrat. / Within a decade, the Conseil d’Etat deeply changed the terms of the judicial complaints towards public persons’ contracts. A policy of substantive stabilization replaced a former policy of formal stabilization of the res contracted – which was influencing the access to the judge of the contract. The decline of the rule of inadmissibility of the claims for anulment towards the contract came together with a tensioning on the anulment sentencing. The claim for an irregularity justifying the contract retroactive disappearence has been intentionally complicated.Each step of the proceedings is impacted by the phenomenon of stabilization. At each moment of the contract examination, judicial techniques are likely to eliminate the risk of retroactive anulment of the contract. This shows that the stabilization is transversal. Legal doctrine showed many times those occurrences at the step of the penalty on the contract. From now on, facing an irregularity, the judge of the contract may use some powers of penalty, quite different and adapted to the seriousness ouf the irregularity. Thus, the irregular contract is not necessarily supposed to be anulled. Powers of penalty that allow a partial or global maintenance of an irregular contract are typical examples of a palliative stabilization. But the conditioning of the legal action system also impacts the strictly speaking judicial examination of the contract. The right to contest the contract may now be exercised in a more reduced scope. In this way, other legal processes act on the charcaterisation of the irregularity. The serve to reject the statement of irregularity. From this perspective, this is a preventive stabilization.This work provides an overview study of the stabilization phenomenon. Regarding the timeline of the contract trial, the preventive stabilization will is first presented, before the palliative one.

O Brasil tem visto um forte processo de judicialização de sua vida pública. Hoje, a Justiça exerce um papel político importante no país, mas é marcada pela ineficiência na solução de disputas e cobrança de créditos. Críticas à expansão desse papel político são, pois, abundantes. Diz-se que (i) geraria instabilidade institucional e um ambiente hostil ao desenvolvimento (crítica institucional); (ii) produziria resultados ilegítimos (preferências judiciais substituiriam decisões majoritárias - crítica de legitimidade) e (iii) resultaria em ações inefetivas, pois o aparato das cortes não é adequado a resolver conflitos policêntricos e prospectivos (crítica instrumental). Este trabalho analisa o processo brasileiro de judicialização e os argumentos centrais da crítica instrumental. Sugere que ela refere-se a um modelo de direito e justiça que está em transformação. No modelo emergente, a justiça distributiva é reintroduzida na dinâmica legal e a administração de interesses sobrepuja, aos poucos, a tutela de direitos. Essas mudanças, mais a judicialização, levam a alterações importantes no processo judicial. Reconhecendo os problemas daí decorrentes, a tese sugere um caráter virtuoso desse novo contencioso de direito público emergente. Ele parece forjar um mecanismo de reforço de participação política que pode avançar a democracia e melhorar condições de igualdade política. / From democratization in the mid 80? on, Brazilian public life has been forced into an increasingly intense process of judicialization. Lack of confidence in representative institutions, a very open-texted charter of social and economic rights, an important political use of the Judiciary by the oppositions, and other related factors seem to be implicated in this. Brazilian justice holds today a considerable political power, but that is just part of a story. It is also astonishingly inefficient as a services provider, and fails to respond to most of its dispute-solving and credit-enforcement functions. Criticism about the expansion of the political role of the Judiciary in this context is profuse. First, it is said to generate institutional instability, which in turn would bring out a hostile environment for economic growth. Second, it is said to be illegitimate, as far as politicized judges may often replace majoritarian decisions by their own. Third, it is said that litigation involving political issues and social reform tend to be erratic and ineffective, because the institutional designs of both courts and their processes are not adequate to regulate polycentric and prospective conflicts. This work puts Brazilian judicialization into context, and analyses the main arguments of the institutional capacity critique (which is called in here the instrumental critique). The author suggests that the instrumental critique refers to a certain model of law and justice that has been changing (both globally and in Brazil) since the end of the last century. In the emergent model, distributive justice is reintroduced into the dynamics of law, and the administration of diffuse interests slowly replaces the adjudication of individual rights as the paradigmatic activity of the Judiciary. Those changes in both law and justice, along with judicialization, are argued to have lead to other important changes in the design of the judicial process in Brazil. Despite the many problems related to those changes, the ending notes of this work point to a possible virtuous character of the new Brazilian public law litigation. As stated herein, this litigation seems to be creating a participation-reinforcing device that in the long run may foster democracy and political equality.

Rättegångskostnader – Costs in Civil Procedure The rules on costs in Chapter 18 of the Swedish Code of Legal Procedure (Sw: Rättegångsbalken) have an impact on several procedural questions but have rarely been thoroughly discussed in legal practice or theory since their adoption in 1942. On the other hand, since the Code was adopted civil procecedure scholars have considerably focused on the development and changes in society and how they affect civil procedure. This thesis aims at examining both these lines of development. The impact of the theoretical discussions during the 20th century is critically addressed, with special attention to cost-related questions, and the application of rules on costs in some current and actual situations are examined and evaluated from a pragmatic perspective. The inquiry shows that costs have been of indirect relevance for the theoretical discussion in procedural law and that this theoretical development in turn has had effects on cost rules. Changing views on civil procedure have led to altered framings of cost problems and to shifts in how the rules have been comprehended and applied. The inquiry covers questions on cost assessment and cost shifting between the parties, as well as problems connected to possibilities to spread costs and risk on legal representatives, funders and others. It is argued that a more compromising and pluralistic application of the rules combined with more explicit communication in cost issues between the parties and the court during early stages of the proceedings may facilitate and lead to more nuanced cost decisions without burdening the final stages of the proceedings with extensive legal argumentation.