Pursuing “Deep Pockets”

Abstract

This article considers how the civil litigation and mediation process work in practice and highlights the interactional and discursive practices by which settlement activities are coordinated and managed. The research examines settlement work in a perspicuous large money damage case involving insurance issues and what complications emerge in relation to these issues. The analysis focuses on how the judge-mediator organizes settlement activities in light of the available insurance, by seeking settlement contributions first from insurance sources (“primary pockets” and “deep pockets”) and only as a last resort from the personal assets (“personal pockets”) of the uninsured defendants. The study finds that the settlement work is insurance-infused and details how the pursuit and defense of insurance “deep pockets” are central to the negotiations and the positions of the parties in the case.