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Civil Justice
Statistics
State courts | Federal courts
State courts
Trial cases represent a
small portion of all civil cases adjudicated. The 1992 Civil Justice Survey of
State Courts estimated that only 3% of 762,000 tort, contract and real property
disposed of were resolved by jury (2%) or bench trial (1%).
In 1996 in the 75 largest
counties in the United States, there were an estimated 15,638 tort, contract,
and real property trial cases.
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Civil cases in the
75 largest counties, 1996
| Dispositions |
Estimated number of tort,
contract and real property cases |
| Total |
15,638 |
|
| Jury trial cases |
10,616 |
|
| |
Plaintiff winners |
5,162 |
|
| |
Punitive damage awards |
212 |
|
| Bench trial cases |
4,628 |
|
| |
Plaintiff winners |
2,849 |
|
| |
Punitive damage awards |
136 |
|
Other trial cases (directed verdicts,
judgment not withstanding the verdict,
and jury trials for defaulted defendants) |
394 |
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| |
Plaintiff winners |
114 |
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| |
Punitive damage awards |
12 |
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During January and
December 1996, juries decided 68% (10,616) of the over 15,000 trial cases
disposed of by State courts of general jurisdiction in the Nation's 75 most
populous counties.
-- Tort cases
(85%) were more likely than contract cases (36%) or real property cases (21%) to
be decided by jury trial.
-- In 49% of jury trial cases, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff
and awarded in the 12 month period an estimated $2.4 billion in compensatory and
punitive damages.
--
The median total award for a plaintiff winner was $35,000.
-- Juries awarded punitive damage
awards in 212 cases with a plaintiff winner that totaled over $545
million.
-- The
median punitive damage award to plaintiff winners was
$50,000.
During 1996, judges
decided 30% (4,628) of the over 15,000 trial cases disposed of by State courts
of general jurisdiction in the Nation's 75 most populous counties.
-- The majority of
contract cases (61%) and real property cases (78%) were disposed by bench
trial.
-- Plaintiffs
won in 62% of bench trials and received an estimated $629 million in
compensatory and punitive damages.
-- The median total award for a
plaintiff winner was $28,000.
-- Judges awarded over $91 million
in punitive damages in 136 cases with a plaintiff winner.
-- The median punitive damage award
to plaintiff winners was $38,000.
Federal courts
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Tort trial cases
terminated in
U.S. district courts, 1996-1997
| Jury and Bench cases terminated |
3,023 |
| Plaintiff winners |
1,249 |
| Number of monetary awards to plaintiff |
1,073 |
| Median Award |
$141,000 |
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Of the 96,284 tort cases
that were terminated in U.S. district courts during fiscal years 1996 and 1997,
3,023 or 3% were decided by a completed jury or bench trial.
- Motor vehicle claims
comprised 19.4% of tort trial cases, product liability 15.9%, and medical
malpractice 7.4%.
- Diversity of citizenship
(cases that involve citizens from different States) was the reason why Federal
rather State Courts handled 72% of tort trial cases, 15.6% involved a Federal
question and 12.3% involved the U.S. Government as a plaintiff (0.2%) or a
defendant (12.1%).
- A jury decided 75% of tort
cases brought to trial.
- Plaintiffs won in 1,249 or
45% of the tort cases decided by trial verdict.
- In 86% of the tort trial
cases in which the plaintiffs won, the jury or court awarded damages. The median
award was $141,000.
- In 10% of the tort trial
cases with a plaintiff winner, damages awarded were over $1 million and in 8% of
the cases, awards exceeded $10 million.
- The median case processing
time for all tort cases from filing to termination exclusive of time on appeal
was 17.3 months.
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