Case Duration by Disposition

Case Duration by Disposition

Considering certified cases only, the median time to disposition is driven by the most common disposition among certified cases: settlement.

Settlement Dismissed with prejudice Dismissed without prejudice Summary judgment Overall, certified cases

Mean (days) Median (days)

781 686

1,019 802 1,028 726

646 990

793 700

Table 13. Mean and median time to disposition for certified cases, by disposition

Of the most common outcomes listed in table 13, settlement had the shortest median time to disposition at 1.9 years, or 686 days. The median is driven by the large number of settled cases that were certified as part of the settlement itself. These cases showed a slightly shorter median time to disposition of 1.7 years (636 days) and made up 81% of all settlements in certified cases. 54 In contrast, the median case life leading to settlement is 59% longer in cases that settle after a court-granted motion for certification. 55 Again, this can be attributed to the case processing requirements introduced by a litigated motion for certification.

54 Mean at 745 days. 55 Median at 1,011 days; mean at 1,023 days.