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Tactical Dilatory Practice in Litigation: Evidence from EC Merger Proceedings

Author

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  • Peter L Ormosi

    (Centre for Competition Policy and Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia)

Abstract

The economic analysis of delay in legal procedures has received considerable attention in the past. Most of these works focus on the determinants of delay in litigation but very little analysis has been dedicated to examining tactical delay caused by the parties to the litigation. This paper offers an empirical example to fill some of this gap by analysing strategic delay in pre-trial administrative litigation. The paper shows that in European merger litigation parties may decide to tactically challenge discovery attempts, which causes a delay that is strategically used to gain more time to settle the case and to avoid a lengthy in-depth investigation, similar to the prediction of Miceli's (1999) theoretical model. This type of delay can be beneficial to merging parties and to society as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter L Ormosi, 2011. "Tactical Dilatory Practice in Litigation: Evidence from EC Merger Proceedings," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2011-12, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    • Handle: RePEc:uea:ueaccp:2011_12
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kessler, Daniel, 1996. "Institutional Causes of Delay in the Settlement of Legal Disputes," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 432-460, October.
    2. Chopard, Bertrand & Cortade, Thomas & Langlais, Eric, 2010. "Trial and settlement negotiations between asymmetrically skilled parties," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 18-27, March.
    3. Williams, Philip L. & Williams, Ross A., 1994. "The cost of civil litigation: An empirical study," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 73-86, March.
    4. Luke Garrod & Bruce Lyons, 2011. "Early Settlement and Errors in Merger Control," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2011-05, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    5. Fenn, Paul & Rickman, Neil, 1999. "Delay and Settlement in Litigation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(457), pages 476-491, July.
    6. Gary M. Fournier & Thomas W. Zuehlke, 1996. "The Timing of Out-of-Court Settlements," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(2), pages 310-321, Summer.
    7. Di Vita, Giuseppe, 2010. "Production of laws and delays in court decisions," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 276-281, September.
    8. Luke Garrod & Bruce Lyons, 2016. "Early Settlement in European Merger Control," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(1), pages 27-63, March.
    9. Miceli, Thomas J., 1999. "Settlement delay as a sorting device," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 265-274, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Litigation costs; tactical delay; antitrust law; mergers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • K41 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Litigation Process

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