U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin Civil Justice Survey of State Courts Tort Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005 November 2009, NCJ 228129 ------------------------------------------------------------ This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/tbjtsc05.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas H. Cohen, J.D., Ph.D. BJS Statistician A tort involves one party alleging injury, damage, or loss stemming from the negligent or intentional acts of another party. Torts accounted for about 60% of the estimated 26,948 tort, contract, and real property cases disposed of by bench or jury trial in a national sample of state courts of general jurisdiction in 2005. Courts of general jurisdiction typically handle civil disputes that exceed certain monetary amounts. The exception is in states that have merged their limited and general jurisdiction courts (e.g., California). Data from jurisdictions that provided totals for both trial and non-trial tort dispositions in 2005 show that nearly 4% of all tort cases were disposed of by trial. Although tort trials account for a small percentage of tort dispositions in general jurisdiction courts, they warrant examination because they provide key information on trial winners, plaintiff award compensation, punitive damages, case processing times, and post-trial activity. Key information-- such as the terms of settlement--would typically not be made part of the public record for tort cases that settle. This report on tort bench and jury trials in state courts of general jurisdiction is the third in a series based on data collected from the 2005 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts (CJSSC). The first report in this series provided an overview of tort, contract, and real property bench and jury trials disposed in a national sample of general jurisdiction courts in 2005. The second report focused on contract cases disposed of by trial. Highlights *During 2005 an estimated 16,397 tort cases were disposed of by bench or jury trial in a national sample of state trial courts. Juries heard about 90% of these cases. *Together, bench and jury trials accounted for an estimated 4% of all tort dispositions in 2005. *Nearly 60% of tort trials were automobile accident cases, and 15% involved medical malpractice claims (figure 1). *Plaintiffs won about half of tort trials. *Half of plaintiff winners in tort trials were awarded $24,000 or less in damages. *Punitive damages were sought in 9% of tort trials with plaintiff winners. The median punitive damage award was $55,000. *In the nation's 75 most populous counties, the number of tort trials declined by about a third between 1996 and 2005. The 2005 CJSSC comprises the first detailed case-level data collection for tort, contract, and real property bench and jury trials disposed of in state courts of general jurisdiction in a nationally representative sample of urban, suburban, and rural counties. ***Footnote 1 The sample of civil trials excludes civil cases that were not tort, contract, or real property cases. Trials in state courts of limited jurisdiction and small claim cases were also excluded from the sample. See Methodology for a descriptive overview of sample design.*** Prior collections of the CJSSC focused on such trials disposed of in general jurisdiction courts in a sample of the nation's 75 most populous counties. Automobile accident cases accounted for nearly 60% of tort trials During 2005 state courts of general jurisdiction in the national sample disposed of an estimated 16,397 tort trials. Nearly 60% of these tort trials were automobile accident cases (table 1). Medical malpractice cases, involving the negligent action of a doctor, dentist, or other health care provider, accounted for 15% of tort trials, while premises liability, concerning an alleged harm from an inadequately maintained or dangerous property, accounted for 11% of tort trials. An estimated 2% of tort trials were product liability cases in which the primary claim involved a dangerous or defective product, such as asbestos, toxic substances, breast implants, or tobacco. Nine out of 10 tort trials were resolved by juries Ninety percent of tort trials were decided before a jury, while judges adjudicated the remaining 10%. ***Footnote 2 About 2% of tort jury trials disposed in the national sample include trials with a directed verdict, judgments notwithstanding the verdict, and jury trials for defaulted defendants.*** The right to a jury trial is guaranteed in most states; however, if neither the plaintiff nor the defendant makes a formal request for a jury trial, that right is forfeited and the trial takes place before a judge. Cases in which the plaintiff claimed medical malpractice were most often disposed of by juries (99%), followed by asbestos (95%) and premises liability (94%) cases. More than 90% of non-asbestos product liability and automobile accident cases were disposed of by jury trial. Judges decided at least a third of slander or libel, false arrest or imprisonment, and professional malpractice trials. About half of conversion cases, which involve the unauthorized use or control of another person's personal property, were adjudicated before judges. More than 51,000 litigants were involved in tort trials in state courts An estimated 51,375 litigants (plaintiffs and defendants) were involved in the 16,397 tort trials disposed of in 2005 (not shown in a table). Of these tort trial litigants, 45% were plaintiffs and 55% were defendants. Almost three-fourths of tort trials (70%) were litigated by only one plaintiff, while about half (55%) involved only one defendant. Eight out of 10 tort trials involved individuals suing businesses or other individuals Tort trials involved an individual suing either another individual in 53% of cases or a business in 27% of cases (table 2). Individuals sued hospitals or governmental agencies in 15% of tort trials. A relatively small number of tort trials (4%) involved non-individual plaintiffs such as governments, businesses, and hospitals. Two-thirds of automobile accident trials involved individuals suing other individuals The majority of automobile accident trials involved individuals suing other individuals. In comparison, individuals sued other individuals in only about a third (35%) of other tort trials (not shown in a table). Litigant pairings differed appreciably by case type among tort trials that did not involve automobile accident claims. For example, more than half of medical malpractice trials involved individuals suing hospitals, while in product liability cases, nearly 90% of the litigants were individual plaintiffs suing business defendants other than hospitals. 1 out of 4 product liability trials involved asbestos claims Although less than 5% of tort trials involved product liability issues, these cases garner a great deal of societal interest because of the high degree of publicity surrounding some of them and the perceived potential for very large payouts. One out of every four product liability trials centered on asbestos, while another three percent involved other toxic substances, including tobacco or dangerous chemicals (table 3). Defective construction, electrical, or manufacturing equipment accounted for another 14% of product liability trials, and faulty home appliances, food, or transportation products each accounted for 10% of product liability trials. Three tobacco product liability trials were disposed of in the national sample in 2005 (not shown in a table). All three of these trials were decided by juries that ruled in favor of the defendants. About half of all tort trials were won by plaintiffs Plaintiffs prevailed in about half of all tort trials concluded in the national sample of state courts in 2005 (table 4). Judges found for plaintiffs in 56% of tort trials, while juries ruled in favor of plaintiffs in 51% of tort trials. The differences in plaintiff win rates between bench and jury trials for tort cases were not statistically significant. Plaintiff win rates varied considerably depending on the type of tort case litigated. Among tort trials, the estimated plaintiff win rates exceeded 60% in some case categories, such as animal attack (75%) or automobile accident (64%). Plaintiffs also won in about half of asbestos and intentional tort trials. Plaintiffs were less successful in other kinds of tort cases. Plaintiffs prevailed in less than a quarter of medical malpractice, non-asbestos (other) product liability, and false arrest or imprisonment trials. In several types of tort cases, plaintiffs experienced similar outcomes irrespective of whether the case was tried before a judge or jury. Plaintiffs won at rates that were nearly identical in bench and jury trials involving automobile accident, intentional tort, professional malpractice, and premises liability issues. Half of plaintiff winners in tort trials were awarded $24,000 or less in damages During 2005, plaintiff winners in tort trials in the national sample were awarded an estimated $3.6 billion in compensatory and punitive damages (not shown in a table). The overall median final award of $24,000 in jury trials and $21,000 in bench trials did not differ statistically (table 5). In some case categories, the median damage awards were relatively modest. For example, automobile accident, animal attack, slander or libel, conversion, and intentional tort cases, which together accounted for nearly 8 out of 10 tort trials with plaintiff winners, generated median awards of $38,000 or less. Automobile accident cases alone constituted about 70% of tort trials with plaintiff winners, and the median award in these cases was $15,000. In other tort case categories, the median awards were considerably higher. Half the plaintiff winners in asbestos cases were awarded damages of $682,000 or more. The median damage awards also exceeded $100,000 in non-asbestos product liability ($500,000) and professional malpractice ($129,000) trials. Medical malpractice trials also garnered relatively high median damage awards. The awards in medical malpractice trials ($400,000) were 17 times greater than the overall median awards in all tort trials. Damage awards of $1 million or more were awarded in nearly 30% of medical malpractice trials (not shown in a table). These high award amounts may be related to the allegations of wrongful death that were asserted in two-fifths of medical malpractice trials with plaintiff winners. Punitive damages were sought in 9% of tort trials with plaintiff winners Awards for punitive damages are almost exclusively reserved for civil claims in which the defendant's conduct was considered grossly negligent or intentional. Unlike other forms of damage relief afforded to plaintiffs, punitive damages are intended to serve as a means for "punishing the defendant" and deterring others from committing similar actions (Black's Law Dictionary). Punitive damages were sought in 9% of the approximately 8,763 tort trials with plaintiff winners in the 2005 national sample (table 6). Punitive damages were also requested in 9% of jury and 16% of bench trials with plaintiff winners. Punitive damages were sought in nearly half (47%) of slander or libel trials with plaintiff winners. In approximately 1 out of 3 intentional torts (33%) and other or unknown torts (27%) trials in which the plaintiffs prevailed, punitive damages were also requested. Punitive damages were sought in less than 10% of automobile accident, professional malpractice, product liability, and premises liability cases with plaintiff winners. These case types garnered fewer punitive damage claims because they typically do not involve acts of gross negligence or intentional harms, which are necessary elements when seeking punitive damages. Punitive damages were awarded in 254 of the 8,763 tort trials with plaintiff winners (3%). The median punitive damage award was $55,000. Twenty-three percent of punitive awards were more than $250,000 and 17% were $1 million or more (not shown in a table). The median punitive damage awards in tort jury ($100,000) and bench ($54,000) trials were not statistically different. Punitive damages accounted for more than a third of the sum of the total awards in conversion and slander or libel cases The CJSSC collected information on the percentage of total awards that could be classified into economic, non-economic, and punitive damages for three-fourths of tort trials with plaintiff winners (figure 2). Economic damages are associated with actual financial losses (e.g., medical costs, lost wages, lost future earnings, property damages), while non-economic damages are related to injuries where the plaintiff claims pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of consortium. These award classifications and amounts were determined by judges or juries when calculating the assessed damage payouts. Overall, economic and non-economic damages constituted about 90% of the total monetary awards to plaintiff winners, while punitive damages accounted for nearly 10% of the total awards. Monetary payouts were evenly distributed between economic (47%) and non-economic (44%) damages. Among the civil trial case types, punitive damages comprised 69% of the sum of the total awards in conversion cases and more than a third of the sum of total awards in slander or libel cases. Damages were reduced in 40% of premises liability trials as a result of comparative negligence A plaintiff's own negligent actions may contribute to the injury sustained. Six states adhere to the doctrine of contributory negligence. ***Footnote 3 Alabama, Maryland, South Carolina, Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia are contributory negligence states. American Justice Prudence, 2nd edition (1989, supp. 1995), 57B, pp. 1131-49.*** In these states any negligence on the plaintiff's part automatically bars recovery for damages. In the remaining states differing forms of comparative negligence are used. Under comparative negligence doctrines, damages are proportionally reduced according to the plaintiff's negligence. Compensatory damages awarded to plaintiff winners were reduced in 15% of tort trials disposed in the national sample in 2005 (table 7). These awards were reduced by 40% on average (not shown in a table). In two-fifths of the premises liability trials with a plaintiff winner, the compensatory awards were reduced due to the plaintiff's own negligence. The award reduction in these premises liability trials was, on average, about 51% (not shown in a table). Tort jury trials lasted 2 days longer on average than tort bench trials In 2005 tort jury trials lasted nearly 4 days on average, while bench trials were disposed within an average of about 2 days (figure 3). For tort jury trials, asbestos cases tended to take the most time averaging 13 days in trial. Other case types that took more than a week on average for juries to dispose include medical malpractice (6 days), non asbestos product liability (7 days), and professional malpractice (8 days) cases. Half of tort jury and bench trials were disposed of within 2 years after the complaint was filed Half of the estimated tort trials disposed of in the national sample in 2005 went from filing of the complaint to final verdict or judgment within an estimated 23 months for jury trials and 18 months for bench trials (table 8). Among tort jury trials, the median case processing time was less than 2 years for animal attack, automobile accident, slander or libel, and conversion cases. Other case types resolved through jury trial took substantially longer to dispose. For example, half the non-asbestos product liability, medical malpractice, and false arrest or imprisonment cases took 30 months or more to process from initial filing to trial resolution. Among tort bench trials, the median case processing times varied from nearly 15 months for false arrest or imprisonment cases to 23 months for intentional and other torts. Litigants sought post-trial relief in nearly 1 out of 3 tort trials After a trial reaches final verdict or judgment, litigants can file post-trial motions seeking to modify or overturn the trial court outcome. These include motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), motions for a new trial, motions to modify the award, and motions for some other form of relief. A JNOV provides a mechanism for directly challenging the jury's verdict. In order to grant a JNOV, the judge must find that the evidence presented at trial so overwhelmingly favored the losing party that the jury's verdict should be reversed and a judgment entered for the party which initially lost. A motion for a new trial is filed when one party seeks to have the verdict or judgment discarded and the case tried again. A motion to modify the award occurs when one party seeks to have the damage award increased or reduced. Other relief can involve motions to correct errors that occurred at trial, modify court costs and fees, and amend judicial decisions in bench trials. Litigants filed post-trial motions in nearly 1 out of 3 tort trials disposed in the national sample in 2005 (not shown in a table). Plaintiffs and defendants sought post-trial relief at similar rates in trials where the plaintiff won In tort trials where plaintiffs prevailed, post-trial relief was sought at a similar rate by both plaintiffs and defendants. Plaintiffs filed motions for post-trial relief in 16% of tort trials where they won, while defendants requested post-trial relief in 18% of tort trials with a plaintiff winner (not shown in a table). A variety of underlying factors can influence plaintiff post-trial activity in trials in which the plaintiff received a favorable outcome, including dissatisfaction with the damage award imposed at trial. The types of post-trial relief sought most commonly by plaintiff winners in tort trials were motions for new trials and award modifications (table 9). These forms of post-trial relief accounted for nearly 90% of plaintiff post-trial motions. In tort trials in which the plaintiff won and the defendant filed a subsequent motion for post-trial relief, 56% of those motions were for a new trial while 35% were for a JNOV. Tort trials where the plaintiff did not win also manifested substantial post-trial activity. Plaintiffs filed motions for post-trial relief in almost one-quarter of tort trials (22%) where they lost (not shown in a table). In 86% of these cases, the plaintiff requested that the court discard the verdict or judgment and grant a new trial. In tort trials where the plaintiff did not prevail, defendants rarely engaged in post-trial activity. Less than 4% of defendants sought post-trial relief in tort trials without a plaintiff winner. Courts were more likely to grant plaintiffs post-trial relief in trials where the plaintiff prevailed Plaintiffs were more likely to be granted post-trial relief if they won at trial. The courts granted post-trial relief to 36% of plaintiff winners seeking to have their verdict or judgment modified (not shown in a table). The most common post-trial relief granted to these plaintiffs was classified as "other," including motions to correct errors that occurred in trial or modify court costs and fees (table 10). About 30% of plaintiff winners who sought and were granted post-trial relief were awarded a new trial, and another 22% received an award modification. In comparison, 8% of plaintiffs who did not prevail at trial and who subsequently filed a post-trial motion received some form of post-trial relief (not shown in a table). More than 90% of these plaintiffs were granted a new trial. Post-trial relief was granted to 30% of defendants who sought to modify a favorable plaintiff verdict or judgment. In about two-fifths of these cases the relief granted was in the form of an award reduction, and in 44% of these cases a new trial or JNOV was granted. Although fewer than 4% of defendants sought to modify a verdict or judgment that went against the plaintiff, an estimated 44% of these requests were granted. Litigants filed notices of appeal in 13% of tort trials Filing a notice with the trial court to take an appeal to the state's intermediate appellate court or court of last resort represents another option for litigants seeking to overturn or modify a verdict or judgment that they believe does not comply with state law. Notices to file an appeal were filed with the trial court by one or both parties in 13% of tort trials disposed in the national sample (not shown in a table). The appeal rate depended on the trial outcome. Plaintiffs filed appeals in 5% of tort trials in which they prevailed and 13% of tort trials in which they lost (table 11). Defendants filed notice of appeal in 8% of tort trials with a plaintiff winner; however, they rarely filed appeals in tort trials where the plaintiff did not receive a favorable verdict or judgment. The rate of appeals also varied substantially by case type. Defendants filed notices of appeal in about two-fifths of professional malpractice trials in which they lost. Defendants also gave notice of appeal in more than 30% of product liability and medical malpractice trials with prevailing plaintiffs. Among tort trials that the plaintiff lost, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal in at least 21% of intentional tort trials and in 39% of professional malpractice trials. Tort trial trends in the nation's 75 most populous counties, 1996, 2001, and 2005 Prior to the 2005 CJSSC, BJS funded three surveys that examined general civil trials held in a sample of the nation's 75 most populous counties in 1992, 1996, and 2001. In addition to the national sample of general civil trials, the 2005 CJSSC also contained a sub-sample of civil trials concluded in the nation's 75 most populous counties. The 75 most populous counties sub-sample was maintained for comparison purposes with earlier iterations of the CJSSC. In the trends discussion of this report, data are presented on tort trial litigation in the nation's 75 most populous counties rather than the national sample examined in the analyses described in the earlier sections of this report. In addition, the analyses have been restricted to tort bench and jury trials resolved in 1996, 2001, and 2005 because data from the 1992 survey did not contain case level information on tort bench trials. The number of tort trials declined by a third between 1996 and 2005 The number of tort trials concluded in state courts in the nation's 75 most populous counties declined by about a third from 10,278 trials in 1996 to 7,038 trials in 2005 (table 12). Among the tort case types, premises (-52%) and product liability (-48%) registered the largest declines, while the number of medical malpractice trials remained fairly stable from 1996 through 2005. Data from the two most recent BJS civil trial surveys reveal stabilization in the number of tort trials. From 2001 to 2005, the number of tort trials concluded in the nation's 75 most populous counties declined by 12%, a decrease that was not statistically significant. Plaintiff win rates were relatively stable in tort trials from 1996 through 2005 The plaintiff win rate in tort trials has remained relatively stable from 1996 to 2005. During this period, about half of all plaintiffs prevailed in tort trials. The percentage of plaintiffs prevailing in automobile accident cases increased slightly from 58% in 1996 to 61% in 2005. In comparison, plaintiffs won in fewer medical malpractice cases in 2005 (19%) than in 1996 (23%). Median damage awards in product liability and medical malpractice trials were higher in 2005 compared to 1996 The median damage awards garnered by plaintiff winners in tort trials declined from $38,000 in 1996 to $31,000 in 2005, a decrease that was not statistically significant. ***Footnote 4 The 1996 damage award statistic has been adjusted to account for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/cpa/home.htm). The CPI, the most commonly reported measure of consumer price levels, is a statistical estimate of the level of prices of goods and services bought for consumption purposes by households. The CPI is a measure of inflation used to index wages, salaries, pensions, or contracted prices.*** In comparison to tort cases generally, several case categories witnessed marked increases in their median damage awards. This trend was especially apparent in product liability trials where the median award amounts were 3 times higher in 2005 ($748,000) than they were in 1996 ($241,000). For medical malpractice trials, the median damage awards were nearly 2 times higher in 2005 ($679,000) than they were in 1996 ($354,000). In intentional tort cases, the median awards were 2.5 times higher in 2005 ($100,000) than in 1996 ($40,000). Plaintiff winners were awarded punitive damages in 5% or less of tort trials overall between 1996 and 2005 The percentage of tort trials in which the plaintiff winner received punitive damages rose from 3% in 1996 to 5% in 2001 and then declined to 4% in 2005. Among intentional tort cases, the percentage of prevailing plaintiffs awarded punitive damages ranged from 24% to 36% during the 1996 to 2005 reporting period. For the other tort case categories, the rate at which plaintiff winners received punitive damages never exceeded 10%. Case processing time remained relatively stable in tort trials from 1996 through 2005 In 1996 it took nearly 22 months for half of all tort cases to proceed from initial filing to verdict or judgment, while during 2005, 50% of tort cases progressed from filing to jury or bench disposition within 23 months. These differences were not statistically significant. Intentional tort cases took 4 months longer to dispose in 2005 (25 months) than in 1996 (21 months). Bench and jury trials accounted for 4% of tort dispositions In addition to collecting detailed case-level information on civil trials, the 2005 CJSSC included aggregate counts of trial and non-trial dispositions for all tort cases in 104 jurisdictions. Among these 104 jurisdictions, bench and jury trials accounted for an estimated 4% of the 140,929 tort cases disposed of in 2005 (table 13). Trial rates also varied across the tort case categories. ***Footnote 5 Not all 104 jurisdictions were capable of calculating trial rates by specific CJSSC case types. See table 13 for the jurisdictions that could calculate a trial rate by case type.*** Nearly 8% of medical malpractice cases were disposed of through trial; in comparison, 3% of automobile accident and less than 1% of non-asbestos product liability tort cases were resolved through bench or jury trial. Methodology Collection of data on general civil bench and jury trials The Civil Justice Survey of State Courts (CJSSC) examines tort, contract, and real property trials disposed of in general jurisdiction courts. The 2005 CJSSC contained two sampling frames. First, the sample was designed so that inferences could be made about general civil trials litigated in the nation's 75 most populous counties. The 75 most populous counties design was maintained in order to compute trends in civil trial litigation. The sample design for the 75 most populous counties sample was the same as the ones used for the 2001, 1996, and 1992 BJS civil trial studies. The sample is a stratified sample with 46 of the 75 most populous counties selected. In addition to sampling civil trial litigation in the nation's 75 most populous counties, a sample of from which to estimate the civil trial litigation outside the 75 most populous was developed. The sample of civil trial litigation outside the nation's 75 most populous counties was constructed by first forming 2,518 primary sampling units (PSUs) from 3,066 counties 3,141 U.S. counties total minus the 75 counties from the 2001 CJSSC. The 2,518 PSUs were stratified into 50 strata according to census region, levels of urbanization, and population size which was based on the square root of the estimated 2004 population in each of these PSUs. From the 50 strata, a total of 100 PSUs containing 110 counties were selected for the supplemental sample of counties outside the nation's 75 most populous. Hence, a total of 156 counties, 46 representing the nation's 75 most populous, and 110 representing the remainder of the nation were used for the sample. ------------------------------------------------------------ Civil Justice Survey of State Courts Sampling Framework Sampling frame ------------------------------------- 75 most popu- Outside the 75 lous counties most populous counties PSUs 75 2,518 Counties sampled 46 110 Cases meeting study criteria 5,038 744 Weighted cases 7,038 9,359 Weight 1.40 12.58 ----------------------------------------------------------- The second stage of the sample design involved generating lists of cases for coding. Each participating jurisdiction identified cases disposed of by jury trial or bench trial between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2005. Some jurisdictions produced a list covering 12 months of trials for a fiscal year. Trial cases sampled met the following criteria for jury and bench trials developed by the National Center for State Courts: both litigants appeared at trial, both sides presented contested evidence, at least one litigating party sought monetary damages, and the trial was heard through completion. These criteria excluded many cases initially classified as bench or jury trials from the sample. Civil trials in state courts of limited jurisdiction and small claim cases were also excluded. For the sample of tort trials occurring in the nation's 75 most populous counties, data on 5,038 tort trials met the study criteria. When these trials are weighted to the nation's 75 most populous counties, they represent 7,038 tort trials. For the sample of civil trials occurring outside the nation's 75 most populous counties, data on 744 tort trials met the study criteria. When these trials are weighted, they represent 9,359 tort trials disposed in counties outside the nation's 75 most populous. The weighted estimate of 16,397 tort trials represents a small percentage of the reported 7.5 million civil cases filed in all unified/general jurisdiction state courts nationwide in 2005. This nationwide count comprises all tort, contract, real property, small claims, probate/estate, mental health cases, and other civil cases filed in state courts of unified/general jurisdiction. Although no nationwide counts of tort filings in state courts are available, the National Center for State Courts Court Statistics Project reports 441,307 tort cases being filed in the unified/general jurisdiction courts of 34 states in 2005. ***Footnote 6 Source: See LaFountain, R., Schauffler, R., Strickland, S., Raftery, W., & Bromage, C. Examining the Work of State Courts, 2006: A National Perspective from the Court Statistics Project (National Center for State Courts 2007).*** Collection of counts of all civil dispositions In conjunction with collecting detailed case level information on general civil trials, the counties participating in this survey were asked to complete a matrix that contained information on all general civil cases disposed in 2005. Frequency counts were obtained for trial and non-trial dispositions in these counties. The non-trial dispositions included cases dismissed for want of prosecution, granted default or summary judgments, settled or withdrawn prior to trial, settled through mediation or another method of alternative dispute resolution, or transferred to another court. This secondary data collection was used to gather disposition outcomes in trial and non-trial cases by plaintiff claim type. Definitions of case types Animal attack: Personal injury or death caused by the negligent control of an animal. Automobile accident: Personal injury or death caused by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle (not boat or airplane). Conversion: Personal injury or property damage caused by the unauthorized use or control of another person's personal property. False arrest, imprisonment: Arrest or imprisonment without proper legal authority. Intentional tort: Personal injury, death, or property damage caused by another's intentional act. Medical malpractice: Personal injury or death caused by a medical professional's negligent care. Other professional malpractice: Personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the negligent act of a non-medical professional. Other negligent acts: Negligence for an act not represented by other case categories. Premises liability: Personal injury or death caused by dangerous condition of residential or commercial property. Product liability: Personal injury or damage caused by the negligent manufacture or design of a product or exposure to toxic substances. Slander, Libel, or Defamation: Damage caused to the career or reputation of an individual due to false accusations, comments, or statements made by another. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael D. Sinclair is acting director. This BJS Bulletin presents the third release of findings in a series of reports from the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 2005. Thomas H. Cohen wrote this Bulletin under the supervision of Duren Banks. Tracey Kyckelhahn verified the report. Data design and collection was conducted by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC); Nicole L. Waters, Ph.D. was the project director and provided comments. Shauna M. Strickland, Paula L. Hannaford-Agor, Cynthia G. Lee and Chantal G. Bromage of the NCSC also provided comments. James L. Green, M.A., Senior Statistician at Westat, designed the sample used for this data collection. Tina Dorsey produced the report, Catherine Bird and Jill Duncan edited the report, and Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing, under the supervision of Doris J. James. November 2009, NCJ 228129 ------------------------------------------------------------ This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: . Office of Justice Programs Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11/4/2009/ JER 2:30PM