CL&P Book Club: Introductory Remarks

by Michael Greve

I am no great fan of consumer class actions. I am particularly skeptical of class actions (such as the far-famed Price litigation in Illinois) that effectively dispense with “detrimental reliance” and other doctrines that require some connection between a defendant’s wrong and a plaintiff’s remedy. Such doctrines, it seems to me, have important efficiency characteristics, which we dismiss at our peril.

In one of my rare forays into tort law, I have attempted to make that case in a little book entitled Harm-Less Lawsuits? What’s Wrong With Consumer Class Actions (AEI, 2005). I am grateful that clpblog has decided to post an excerpt from that book. “The Consumer Law of the Horse” deals with the intellectual foundations of modern consumer law—in particular, the determined effort to disconnect that body of law from traditional notions of “harm.”

The book is available from AEI and the full text is available online here. Consistent perhaps with my embrace of ancient, supposedly discredited common law doctrines, I am no great blogger. But I would much welcome comments, and I shall participate in the discussion to the best of my abilities.

For the first installment, click here.