AMD is suing Intel, claiming “freedom of choice and the benefits of innovation…are being stolen away in the microprocessor market,” says Hector Ruiz, AMD chairman, president and chief executive.

This case raises concerns over at Fast Company Now, as Kevin Ohannessian writes,

I worry that this could start a new trend. Is petitor trouncing you? Sue him. Do you feel your product is underperforming due to unfair opposition? Take your rival to court. It does seem at times that America is a nation built on litigation, but capitalism is petition. Such lawsuits should petition more fair, and not replace it altogether. Let us hope the next year proves this to be the case.

Tort reform policy is an important part of addressing the litigious mindset of America. ment brings out the critically important role of the courts, as arbiters of justice. But they should be arbiters of the last resort, not replacing other structures and spheres of reconciliation.

In Trial by Fury, the latest volume in the Christian Social Thought Series, law professor Ronald J. Rychlak makes the argument that the tort system needs to be oriented to mon good in order to maximize justice. And part of realizing mon good is appreciating the role of essential mediating institutions.