The Practicing Law Institute (PLI) has released a new edition of its treatise on product liability litigation. Stephanie A. Scharf, Lise T. Spacapan, Traci M. Braun, and Sarah R. Marmor, eds., Product Liability Litigation: Current Law, Strategies and Best Practices (PLI Dec. 2012).
The new edition, the third release of the treatise, has several new chapters, including my contribution, Chapter 30A, “Statistical Evidence in Products Liability Litigation,” which discusses the use of, and recent developments, in statistical and scientific evidence in the law, including judicial mishandling of “significance probability,” statistical significance, statistical power, and meta-analysis. Here is the table of contents for this new chapter on statistical evidence:
- § 30A:1 : Overview 30A-2
- § 30A:2 : Litigation Context of Statistical Issues 30A-2
- § 30A:3 : Qualification of Expert Witnesses Who Give Testimony on Statistical Issues 30A-3
- § 30A:4 : Admissibility of Statistical Evidence—Rules 702 and 703 30A-3
- § 30A:5 : Significance Probability 30A-5
- § 30A:5.1 : Definition of Significance Probability (The “p-value”) 30A-5
- § 30A:5.2 : The Transpositional Fallacy 30A-5
- § 30A:5.3 : Confusion Between Significance Probability and The Burden of Proof 30A-6
- § 30A:5.4 : Hypothesis Testing 30A-7
- § 30A:5.5 : Confidence Intervals 30A-8
- § 30A:5.6 : Inappropriate Use of Statistical Significance—Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano 30A-9
- [A] : Sequelae of Matrixx Initiatives 30A-12
- [B] : Is Statistical Significance Necessary? 30A-13
- § 30A:6 : Statistical Power30A-14
- § 30A:6.1 : Definition of Statistical Power 30A-14
- § 30A:6.2 : Cases Involving Statistical Power 30A-15
- § 30A:7 : Meta-Analysis 30A-17
- § 30A:7.1 : Definition and History of Meta-Analysis 30A-17
- § 30A:7.2 : Consensus Statements 30A-18
- § 30A:7.3 : Use of Meta-Analysis in Litigation 30A-18
- § 30A:7.4 : Competing Models for Meta-Analysis 30A-20
- § 30A:7.5 : Recent Cases Involving Meta-Analyses 30A-21
- § 30A:8 : Conclusion 30A-23
The treatise weighs in with over 40 chapters, and over 1,000 pages. The table of contents and table of authorities are available online at the PLI’s website.
The PLI is a non-profit educational organization, chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. The PLI provides continuing legal education, and publishes treatises and handbooks geared for the practitioner.
