Volume 4, No. 2 (Summer 2001)
This monograph by Professor Michael Krauss of the George Mason University School of Law is a well-written and accessible critique of the recent government lawsuits against the tobacco and firearms industries. These recoupment suits have been criticized by many conservatives and libertarians, who have described these lawsuits as, among other things, “executive taxation,” “regulation through litigation,” and “extortion.” Professor Krauss’s monograph is a primer from that perspective. Krauss explains how these recoupment suits are based on a general misapplication of private law to public disputes, and he discusses the specific legal and economic flaws of these lawsuits.
