The analysis focuses mainly on large urban State trial courts that handle much of the country's civil litigation. Basic aspects of tort and contract litigation are compared, civil verdicts and awards in approximately 12,000 cases decided by a jury are discussed, and data are provided regarding general patterns of litigation in 75 counties. The discussion notes that 43,259 of the approximately 230,000 general docket civil cases initiated in United States District Courts in 1993 were tort cases, of which 44 percent were product liability, 12 percent were motor vehicle torts, and 3 percent were medical malpractice. The data do not indicate a rapid escalation in the volume of either tort or contract filings. The median case-processing time in tort cases is 416 days and in contract cases is 253 days. Although tort cases account for about half of all general civil cases filed in urban State courts, torts account for almost 8 of 10 jury trials. Overall, juries find for the plaintiff in half of all cases. The data also indicate a more complex and varied set of factors than is sometimes assumed in the public debate on civil litigation and its reform. Figures, tables, footnotes, and appended tables and methodological information