Number of U.S, tort trials decline

U.S. district courts saw a decrease of 79% in the number of tort trials concluded between 1985 and 2003, according to a recent U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics report.The report states that 768 tort casesprimarily personal injurywere decided in U.S. district court trials in 2003 compared with 3,604 in 1985."The growing use of alternative dispute resolution is frequently cited as primary contributor to the falling trial rate,” according to the bureau. In addition, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that mediation and arbitration programs were used in more than 25,000 civil cases in 2002.”Other legal scholars have speculated that the increased complexity and costs inherent in taking a case to trial have contributed (to the decrease)," the bureau says.In 2002 and 2003 combined, plaintiffs won in 47.7% of the trials. The estimated median monetary award to plaintiffs who won in all types of cases was $201,000.”Although judges found for plaintiffs more often than juries, the estimated median damage award was higher in jury ($244,000) than in bench ($150,000) tort trials,” the bureau reports.