Stites & Harbison, PLLC

In the current climate of products liability or environmental mass torts, how a trial is structured may be just as important to the ultimate outcome as the discovery process involved in getting there.  Separating issues, most often liability and damages, for trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(b), and its state court counterparts, is a procedural tool attorneys and courts use both to simplify complex litigation and to save time and money.  Nevertheless, studies show that trials on separate issues do not necessarily result in more efficient litigation.  Moreover, trying liability and damages issues separately can significantly affect the outcome of the litigation and the amount of the verdicts recovered if any.

Click here to read this article in its entirety.

Sarah Grider Cronan is a Member of the firm in its Louisville office where she has experience in product liability litigation, insurance coverage cases, commercial litigation and toxic tort matters.

Holly Neikirk Lankster is an Associate in the firm's Lexington office where her practice concentrates primarily on product liability and toxic tort litigation.

Products Liability newsletter, Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 2009, Products Liability Litigation Committee, Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, Copyright © 2009 American Bar Association.  All rights reserved.

This information or any portion thereof may not be copies or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.