Wisconsin Legal Reform Package Set for Hearing Today

Press Releases | January 4, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 4, 2018 – Today, the Wisconsin Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on AB 773, a multi-part legal reform package that includes very important reforms to […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 4, 2018 – Today, the Wisconsin Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on AB 773, a multi-part legal reform package that includes very important reforms to the state’s discovery and class action laws. ATRA counsel Mark Behrens of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP is set to testify on behalf of the organization.

“ATRA applauds those lawmakers who have worked tirelessly to craft this legislation and their efforts to try to make the legal system fairer by leveling the playing field for defendants in the state of Wisconsin,” said Tiger Joyce, president of ATRA. “It is our hope that this legislation will put an end to plaintiff’s lawyers shaking down companies and forcing settlements through these ridiculous fishing expeditions.”

The reforms in AB 773 will establish cost-benefit and proportionality requirements for discovery to prevent litigants from abusing the discovery process to leverage a higher potential settlement or engage in a “fishing expedition.”

Additionally, the reforms would align Wisconsin’s class action statute with Federal Rule 23, providing much needed clarity and consistency not found under Wisconsin’s current law.

“Over the past few years, Wisconsin has proved to be a strong leader in civil justice reform and this hearing further exemplifies the state’s commitment to the cause,” said Joyce. “We commend Governor Scott Walker for his continued leadership on legal reform issues in the state.”

-ATRA-

The American Tort Reform Association, based in Washington, D.C., is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. Its members include nonprofit organizations and small and large companies, as well as trade, business and professional associations from the state and national level. The American Tort Reform Foundation is a sister organization dedicated primarily to research and public education.