Abstract
A method for adjusting a defendant's rational settlement ceiling in a civil matter when the case record is indexed on a public legal database and the defendant operates a consumer-facing business. The method detects public indexing of the case record, confirms the defendant's consumer-facing status from structured business data, and then applies a reputational loss factor to the defendant's rational ceiling above the direct projected litigation cost. The adjusted ceiling reflects the empirical observation that a publicly indexed civil matter against a consumer-facing defendant creates ongoing search-surface exposure that translates into projected revenue impact independent of the legal outcome, and this exposure rationally raises the maximum amount the defendant would pay to resolve the matter early.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Burton, Aaron, "Public-Exposure Reputational Loss Factor for Adjusting a Defendant Rational Ceiling in Bilateral Settlement Analysis", Technical Disclosure Commons, (April 21, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/9862