Mississippi has now enacted a reform law that will keep present and future attorneys general and other state officials from hiring their friends and political supporters to do legal work without appropriate scrutiny and accountability
Points of LightA recent study performed by the insurance industry says dog bite claims in 2011 cost the industry $478.9 million, a 12 percent increase from 2010. Specifically, State Farm California had 527 dog bite claims and paid more than $20.3 million as a result. This is a 31% increase in claims over 2010
Judicial HellholesIn a recent “Letter to the Editor” in the Washington Post, David Goldberg, a divorce lawyer out of Gaitherburg, Md, gave Washington Nationals’ outfielder Bryce Harper some ridiculous advice- sue Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels for hitting him with a pitched ball.
UncategorizedReacting to recent endorsements of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as a possible vice presidential running-mate for Mitt Romney, ATRA director of communications Darren McKinney suggested, in a Daily Caller column published yesterday, that Jindal’s longstanding ties to the personal injury bar may pose an insurmountable hurdle if the governor wants to pursue politics on the national stage
UncategorizedThe end of the Louisiana state legislative session is fast approaching. Legislators will adjourn on June 4, 2012, and with only a few weeks left in the session, one cannot help but wonder- how much longer before leaders take action to protect the state from costly legacy lawsuit abuse.
Judicial HellholesRecent letters to the editor by the American Tort Reform Association have kept pressure on trial lawyer-backed opponents of tort reform, both in Sacramento, California, and Phildelphia, Pennsylvania
Judicial HellholesNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed into law a refreshingly bipartisan act by the state legislature that will protect
Points of LightMedical liability reforms undertaken in Pennsylvania last decade have had the intended effect of reducing the number of meritless lawsuits, particularly in Philadelphia, and broader progress in other areas of tort law now seems possible, too
UncategorizedA just-released report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows that questionable slip-and-fall claims rose by 12% from 2010 through 2011, and not coincidentally many past and present Judicial Hellholes are where most of these bogus, bottom-feeding lawsuits are filed
Judicial HellholesOn May 8, 2012, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee defeated A.B. 1878 (Beth Gaines-R) by a clean party-line vote of 3-7. This bill would have provided businesses much needed relief from frivolous ADA lawsuits.
Judicial HellholesOn Monday, May 6, 2012, a Jenkintown-based law firm filed a ridiculous consumer fraud class action lawsuit against Comcast Spectacor, the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers, on behalf of all 2011-2012 full season ticket holders.
Judicial HellholesFirst the good news. Last week a jury ruled in favor of Union Carbide, the defendant in an asbestos lawsuit that once resulted in a $322 million verdict, the largest asbestos award for a single plaintiff in U.S. history.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightWilson v. Frito Lay is the latest food-related class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, adding to the growing wave of ridiculous consumer class action lawsuits filed there
Judicial HellholesThis week the Iowa legislature unanimously passed H.F. 563, TiPAC legislation. The law will bring needed transparency to the process of the state’s occasional hiring of outside counsel.
Points of LightLos Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson has — incredibly enough — just ordered a new trial in Hernandez v. Schaefer Ambulance Service, the details of which are avialble in an earlier Judicial Hellholes post
Judicial HellholesLast week, Merck & Co. successfully defended itself against a claim involving its drug, Fosamax. This was the company’s fifth win in six such cases that have gone to trial. The cases were heard in the Atlantic County Superior Court by Judge Carol Higbee, a court that has consistently been targeted by our Judicial Hellholes report.
Points of LightIf it can be demonstrated that Los Angeles’s leading personal injury lawyer is lying to the court about how a $350,000 settlement was reached (or breached), he should be held in contempt and recommended for a severe law license suspension
Judicial HellholesOver the past few years, doctors in both North Carolina and Ohio have seen a dramatic decrease in their insurance premiums, a decline in closed medical malpractice claims, and a significant decrease in total payments for medical liability. As a result, the market for physicians has stabilized and doctors are no longer fleeing the state out of fear of skyrocketing costs of medical liability insurance premiums. This has led to better access to competent doctors for all state citizens.
Points of LightBoth the energy companies targeted by “legacy” lawsuits and the lawyers and landowners who profit from them believe that Louisiana lawmakers will have to compromise if they’re to craft meaningful reform legislation. But neither side expects much leadership from Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).
UncategorizedThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported yesterday that the U.S. in 2011 had the most number of reported measles cases in 15 years, and for this we can blame the anti-vaccine hysteria generated by Hollywood celebvocates and self-serving personal injury lawyers
UncategorizedThe American Bar Association is disputing the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s assertion that it has the authroity to view the internal communications between the entities it regulates and those entities’ attorneys
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