Lex Machina is proud to release its 2023 Real Property Litigation Report, which provides insights into real property litigation trends in federal district court and appellate court over the five-year period from 2018 to 2022. This report surveys emerging trends in case filings (including federal appellate cases), most active venues, judges, law firms, parties, timing metrics, case resolutions, findings, and damages. The report often focuses on different sets of data, e.g., filtering cases in order to provide analytics on general real property cases and federal appellate real property cases.
Key Trends and Highlights from the report include:
- In 2022, 3,452 real property cases were litigated in federal district courts, a 27% increase from the number of cases filed the year before in 2021, and a decrease of 63% from the highest number of cases filed in any year over the past decade in 2013.
- In the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, the highest number of real property cases was filed in the Central District of California, while Judge Martinotti from the District of New Jersey was the most active judge for real property cases.
- In the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. was the most active defendant.
- For real property cases that were appealed to a federal appellate court and terminated from 2018 to 2022 with a decision on the merits of the appeal, 17% were ultimately reversed.
- $1.9 billion in total damages were awarded as Contract Damages in 2,997 cases from 2018 to 2022.
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Legal Analytics is used for planning, budgeting, and litigation strategy. The metrics in this report can help readers decide who to pursue as clients, whether to file a particular motion, or when to settle (and for how much). This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data in order to gain a competitive edge in litigation.
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