BAYER TRIAL ILLUSTRATES NATURE OF TEXAS JUDICIAL HELLHOLE

Washington, DC, May 03, 2004 -- In a trial against Bayer in the Judicial Hellhole of Nueces County, Texas, the plaintiff learned after losing the case that he could have settled for $250,000, if only his lawyer would have told him about the offer.

“This lawyer failed to tell his client of the settlement offer because of his own greed,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. “This kind of behavior is part of what constitutes labeling a jurisdiction a Judicial Hellhole.”

An article that appeared in today’s Wall Street Journal exposes personal injury lawyer Mikal Watts, who represented an 82-year-old plaintiff allegedly injured by Baycol, the cholesterol-lowering drug manufactured by Bayer.

The elderly plaintiff was stunned upon learning the jury verdict that sided with the defendant and said: “Watts thought he could make a killing,” but “I got nothing, not a penny.” As for the settlement, the plaintiff said: “The lawyer never told us. We might have taken it.”

Seeking $50 million in compensatory damages and $500 million in punitive damages for the case, Watts “refused to consider this or any other offer unless Bayer settled all 1,400 of his Baycol cases.”

“This lawyer was clearly looking out for his own interests and not those of his client,” Joyce concluded.

Judicial Hellholes are state trial court jurisdictions where ATRA believes that impartial justice is unavailable. Personal injury lawyers seek out these jurisdictions and file cases there because they know they will receive a large reward, a favorable precedent, or both.

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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.