IF THE OBJECTIVE OF COMPILING TORT FILING DATA IS TO measure tort system activity and changes in the scope of liability of the tort system, then even accurate filing data would be, at best, a highly imperfect measure. What we would want to measure, instead, are the amounts defendants pay to insure against tort risk and the wealth transferred from defendants to plaintiffs (plus administrative and transactional costs). Counting tort filings provides little meaningful information as to what is going on in the tort system. Better to heed the advice that Deep Throat gave to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in a dimly lit underground garage that enabled them to unravel the Watergate conspiracy: Follow the money trail.

True, plaintiffs entering the tort system often insist that “it's not about the money”; rather, they say that they sue because they seek an admission of fault, retribution for a defendant's conduct, or to prevent recurrences. But it is about the money. Even if plaintiffs' assertions accurately reflect their motivations, it is the lawyer who decides whether to file a lawsuit. Lawyers only open the gate to the tort system for that minority of claims that will adequately reward them for venturing their time and money.