TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bebchuk,Lucian Arye
TI  - Suing Solely to Extract a Settlement Offer
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 2161
PY  - 1987
Y2  - 1987
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2161
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2161.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Lucian A. Bebchuk
Harvard Law School
1545 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-3138
Fax: 617/812-0554
E-Mail: bebchuk@law.harvard.edu
AB  - In many disputes, the expected value to the plaintiff from going to trial is negative, either because the chances of winning are small or because the litigation costs are large. While such a plaintiff would not go to trial, he might sue in the hope of extracting a settlement offer: the defendant might make such an offer if he is uncertain as to whether or not the expected value to the plaintiff of going to trial is negative. This paper seeks to identify the factors that determine: (i) whether a plaintiff who does not intend to go to trial will nonetheless succeed in extracting an offer; and (ii) how much will such a plaintiff succeed in extracting.
ER  -