As the philosophical composition of the Court has shifted in recent years, tort defendants have seen their won-loss record fall. From 2010 to 2019, defendants have won 18 cases while losing 22. Defendants won only three of fifteen cases from 2013 through 2016 and five of nine from 2017 to 2019.

During the decade, tort defendants have successfully defended Court of Appeal wins in only eight of twenty cases. From 2011 to 2016, defendants won only two of ten cases which they had won below. Since 2017, defendants have won only four of seven.

Interestingly, in terms of defendants’ winning percentage since 2010, they have fared a little better attacking Court of Appeal decisions they lost than defending their wins. For the decade, defendants have split decisions in taking their losses to the Court – winning ten and losing ten. In 2011 and 2012, defendants won seven of eight such cases, but in the years since, they have won only two of eleven.

Join us back here next Thursday as we begin our look at the individual Justices’ voting records in tort cases.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by Skeeze (no changes).