| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: | Darren McKinney dmckinney@atra.org 202-682-0084 |
Washington, DC, December 18, 2007 -- With today's release of its annual Judicial Hellholes® report, the American Tort Reform Foundation named as "Hellholes" for the first time Clark County, Nevada and Atlantic County, New Jersey. They join perennial Hellholes South Florida, Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Texas, Cook County, Illinois and West Virginia among the nation's most unfair civil court jurisdictions.
"Besides naming two new Judicial Hellholes this year, the biggest headline may be the fact that Madison County, Illinois is no longer a Hellhole," noted ATRF president Sherman "Tiger" Joyce. "In each of the last five years Madison County was cited as a leading Hellhole. But led by Chief Judge Ann Callis and Judge Daniel Stack, the courts there have undertaken several positive reforms which justify moving the county this year to the report's ‘Watch List.'
"As the public becomes more aware of problems within the courts, policymakers are more likely to correct those problems," Joyce observed. "We've now seen that happen in Madison County, just as we saw it happen in Mississippi several years ago."
American Tort Reform Association general counsel Victor Schwartz promptly cautioned that, "While the tactical victory for fairness in Madison County courts is certainly worth celebrating, the nationwide strategic battle for truly equitable civil justice goes on.
"For proof, look no further than this year's two new Hellholes: Clark County, Nevada and Atlantic County, New Jersey," Schwartz continued. "Judges in those gambling hotspots are dealing from the bottom of the deck and advancing personal injury litigation to the detriment of their states' economies.
Pointing to a section of the Hellholes report entitled "Growth Strategies," Schwartz added, "The 2007 Hellholes report also details the personal injury bar's aggressive efforts to expand liability and craft new opportunities for litigation. Plaintiffs' attorneys are pushing their now well-positioned allies in Congress and state legislatures for what I call ‘trial lawyer earmarks' ― hard-to-find provisions tucked into legislation that may seek, for example, to provide new private rights of action, limit federal preemption laws, or prohibit mutually agreed upon arbitration agreements."
"Speaking of political alliances," Joyce interjected, "the Hellholes report also spotlights increasingly common contractual relationships between some state attorneys general and their leading political patrons: personal injury lawyers. Too often these arrangements are governed by non-competitive contracts that are negotiated behind closed doors, and the contingency fees upon which these contracts are typically based give private lawyers, backed by state authority, a pernicious incentive to maximize the damage awards a defendant may be obligated to pay, even if civil justice is minimized in the process."
Schwartz then turned to the selection of this year's top three Judicial Hellholes:
South Florida
"The collective reputation for excessive awards and plaintiff-friendly rulings make Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties a proverbial launching pad for class actions, dubious claims and novel legal
theories," explained Schwartz. "While some judges in West Virginia and other perennial Hellholes have shown determination to make progress, too many judges in South Florida continually allow the plaintiffs' bar to push the envelope of civil justice. And with the state's high court as unpredictable as it is, there's no confidence that improper trial court rulings will be corrected on appeal.
Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Texas
"Texas enacted important tort reforms in 2003 and 2004, and vastly improved its civil justice climate. But personal injury lawyers are still living high off the hog in Jefferson, Brazoria, Cameron, Hidalgo, Nueces, Starr and Zapata counties," Schwartz said. "Last year's Hellholes report noted a new wave of intellectual property litigation in these jurisdictions; this year, personal injury lawsuits in connection to the dredging of Texas ports comprise a rising tide.
Cook County, Illinois
"Though long regarded as an environment that is hospitable to class actions and hostile to corporate defendants, Cook County has added to that reputation with awards for noneconomic damages in wrongful death actions," continued Schwartz. "Additionally, a Cook County court this fall invalidated a state law limiting potentially infinite pain and suffering awards in medical liability cases."
Full text of the Judicial Hellholes® 2007 report is posted at http://www.atra.org. The report's various rankings are summarized below.
2007 Judicial Hellholes
Watch List
Dishonorable Mentions
Points of Light
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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.
© 2007 American Tort Reform Association