ATRA Puts Michigan on ‘Heat Watch’ for Liability-Expanding Agenda

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ATRA Sounds Alarm on Trial Bar’s ‘Wish List’ of Liability Bills

Today, the American Tort Reform Association placed Michigan on its “Heat Watch” list in its new Legislative HeatCheck report, citing an onslaught of liability-expanding legislation that threatens to further deteriorate the state’s legal climate.

“While Michigan’s legislative session is still ongoing, lawmakers are pursuing an entire slate of bills that would open new avenues for lawsuit abuse,” Tiger Joyce, ATRA president said. “The trial bar’s aggressive agenda is on full display this session.”

Michigan already rolled back a major liability protection when it repealed its FDA defense law, which Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed in December. Senate Bill 410 was sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Jeff Irwin and removed a reasonable safeguard, in place for more than 25 years, which deferred to the FDA’s expertise on product safety and warning labels.

“Repealing the FDA defense law is a gift to the personal injury bar that will inevitably lead to more lawsuits second-guessing the scientific judgments of our nation’s top drug regulators,” Joyce said. “Allowing unlimited litigation against manufacturers of FDA-approved products will make medications less affordable and less accessible for Michigan families.”

ATRA’s Legislative HeatCheck also sounded the alarm on several pieces of concerning legislation still pending that would:

  • Enact a broad False Claims Act enabling bounty-hunting lawsuits against businesses;
  • Create a new private right of action for data privacy violations;
  • Undo Michigan’s regulatory compliance exemption under consumer protection law;
  • Impose new “bad faith” insurance requirements with “pay first, ask questions later” restrictions, raising consumer costs;
  • Allow “polluter pay” lawsuits and medical monitoring claims for those with no present injury; and,
  • Establish a private right of action for alleged paid leave violations without first filing with the state.

“The flurry of liability-expanding bills working their way through Lansing reads like a trial lawyer’s wish list,” Joyce said. “If enacted, this onslaught would make Michigan’s civil justice system incredibly imbalanced and make the state an outlier.”

Michigan was named a “Judicial Hellhole®” for the first time last year due to the high court expanding liability in the state as well as the legislature’s pursuit of the trial bar’s agenda. The American Tort Reform Foundation’s 2023-2024 report ranked Lansing at No. 6 among the worst civil justice systems in the country.

Excessive tort costs also impose a $1,046 “tort tax” on every Michigander annually while sapping 97,167 jobs from the state economy.

“This aggressive slate of bills in Michigan could open a Pandora’s box of new litigation woes if legislators don’t wake up and rebalance the scales of justice soon,” Joyce said. hold firm against this liability-expanding agenda.”

ATRA’s Legislative HeatCheck report evaluates a select group of states’ progress — or lack thereof — in enacting meaningful tort reform measures during their most recent legislative sessions.

Michigan’s legislature is named to the “Heat Watch” list alongside California’s and New Jersey’s statehouses. The full Legislative HeatCheck report is available at heatcheck.atra.org.

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