Negative-Value Claim
A claim worth less than the cost of pursuing it individually.
The foundational problem all aggregate procedure exists to solve. Classical theory held that without class treatment such claims simply go unlitigated; mass arbitration falsified that prediction by finding a way to make a portfolio of negative-value claims collectively economic — a development the scholarly literature treats as a genuine revision to litigation theory.
See also
- Claim AggregationAssembling many small, individually uneconomic claims into a portfolio with meaningful leverage.
- SuperiorityThe requirement that a class action be the superior method of adjudication.
- Effective Vindication DoctrineThe narrow principle that an arbitration clause cannot operate as a prospective waiver of federal statutory rights.
Published for legal professionals. Analysis and summaries only — not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by use of this site.