NEW YORK CITY, NEW MEXICO EMERGE AS 'JUDICIAL HELLHOLES,' JOINING PERENNIALS IN FLORIDA, WEST VIRGINIA, ILLINOIS, NEW JERSEY

California, Alabama, Southeast Texas and Madison County Make Report's 'Watch List' As Court Rulings in Minnesota and North Dakota, and Gov. Rendell's Pay-to-Play Contract with Outside Counsel Rate 'Dishonorable Mentions'

Washington, DC, December 15, 2009 -- The American Tort Reform Foundation today released its annual Judicial Hellholes®report, naming some of the nation's "most unfair civil court jurisdictions," including first-time "Hellholes" New York City and the appellate courts of New Mexico, which join perennials South Florida, West Virginia, Cook County, Illinois, and Atlantic County, New Jersey.

The report also cites several "Watch List" jurisdictions that are on the cusp – "they may fall into the Hellholes abyss or rise to the promise of Equal Justice Under Law" – in California, Alabama, and former Hellholes in the Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast of Texas, Madison County, Illinois, and Jefferson County, Mississippi.

Among the jurisdictions noted less severely as "other areas to watch" are Madison County neighbor St. Clair County, Illinois, Orleans and Jefferson parishes in Louisiana, and Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada.

"Lawsuit abuse continues to have a negative impact on both the nation's economy and its health care system," began ATRF president Tiger Joyce. "Every dollar spent defending against a groundless lawsuit is a dollar that won't be spent on research and development, capital investment, worker training or job creation. Unfortunately for those living in Hellholes jurisdictions during this economic downturn, it can be that much harder to find or keep a job and get critical health care services as employers and doctors are driven away by the threat of costly litigation."

American Tort Reform Association general counsel Victor Schwartz explained that, "In an effort to educate the public, our Judicial Hellholes report documents specific problems with certain judges in some of America's most unbalanced civil courts while also offering solutions to those problems."

"As those problems evolve," Joyce added, "our report has evolved, too. And because several powerful and influential plaintiffs' lawyers have faced serious corruption charges in recent years, we've again included in this year's report a 'Rogues' Gallery' as a not-so-subtle reminder to Congress about its responsibilities to investigate such criminality and wrongdoing."

The report also includes a special section entitled, "Fueling the Fire," which focuses on several troubling trends in some courts that could lead to costly expansions of civil liability and even an erosion of public health and safety.

"But remember," Schwartz added, shifting gears, "the Judicial Hellholes report is not all bad news. Our 'Points of Light' section annually celebrates positive civil justice developments. This year's report, for example, recognizes West Virginia's Independent Commission on Judicial Reform for its November recommendation to establish a much-needed intermediate level appellate court in the Mountain State.

"Our report also applauds courts in several states that held the line on damages for 'emotional harm,' and we otherwise appreciatively cite recent positive court rulings in California, Maryland, New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin."

Full text of the Judicial Hellholes 2009/2010 report is posted at www.atra.org.

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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.