West Virginia High Court Soundly Rejects Trial Bar’s Theory of Innovator Liability
On May 11, 2018, the West Virginia Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in the case of McNair v. Johnson
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightFormer NY Speaker Sheldon Silver Convicted of Federal Corruption Charges in Second Trial
As reported by the New York Times, Sheldon Silver, former Democratic speaker of the New York State Assembly, was found
Judicial Hellholes5th Circuit Court of Appeals Overturns $502 Million J&J Verdict after Finding ‘Unequivocally Deceptive’ Conduct by Plaintiffs’ Lawyer
On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a half-billion dollar verdict against Johnson &
Judicial HellholesIntent on Making State a Judicial Hellhole- Maryland High Court Holds Statute of Repose Does Not Apply to Asbestos Claims
The Maryland Court of Appeals recently overturned the state appellate court’s Duffy v. CBS Corp. decision. In the case, which
Judicial HellholesATRA Disappointed in Massachusetts Supreme Court’s Decision to Adopt Expansive Theory of “Innovator Liability”
On March 16, 2018, in a very disappointing decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Court adopted an expansive theory of civil liability
Judicial HellholesCalifornia Federal Court Finds ‘Insufficient Evidence’ to Require Warning Labels on Roundup Products
On February 26, 2018, a federal judge in the District Court for the Eastern District of California halted a Prop 65 requirement that Monsanto place warning labels on its Roundup products, deciding that there was “insufficient evidence” the popular weed killer causes cancer.
Judicial HellholesAttorney General Sessions Discusses DOJ Efforts to Combat Opioid Abuse
On Tuesday, we heard more about the ongoing efforts to combat opioid abuse and efforts to combat this important public
Judicial HellholesEvidence of Trial Lawyer Corruption Comes to Light in South Carolina
On Sunday, February 11, 2018, the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina reported new email evidence suggesting misconduct regarding
Judicial Hellholes“CREATES Act” is Nothing but a Giveaway to Well-Heeled Personal Injury Lawyers
The United States Senate is currently considering legislation that would benefit trial lawyers at the expense of consumers and innovative drug manufacturers. Proponents claim the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (“CREATES”) Act (Pat Leahy D-VT) would provide a more efficient path for generic drug manufacturers to bring their product to market. In reality, the legislation is nothing but a giveaway to greedy personal injury lawyers and generic drug manufacturers.
Judicial HellholesGarden State’s New Governor Faces Bellwether Choice on ‘Pay Equity’ Legislation
New Jersey, already ranked 6th among the nation’s worst Judicial Hellholes, has a newly inaugurated governor who’s wasted no time signaling his intention to expand growth-stifling civil liability still further
Judicial HellholesAnother Scientifically Groundless Talc Verdict Falls, This Time in Los Angeles
Just three days after a Missouri appeals court vacated the first of four monstrous, if scientifically groundless verdicts won since 2015 in St. Louis by plaintiffs alleging their use of talcum powder caused ovarian cancer, a trial judge in Los Angles last Friday reversed a $417 million plaintiff’s verdict in a comparable case
Judicial Hellholes, UncategorizedTwo Florida Firms’ Fraudulent Tobacco Claims Draw Nearly $9.2 Million in Sanctions
With at least six Florida personal injury lawyers now facing unrelated criminal charges for defrauding auto insurers and the Sunshine State already in the running for this year’s #1 ranking among the nation’s Judicial Hellholes, a panel of four federal judges last week imposed nearly $9.2 million in sanctions on two Jacksonville-based plaintiffs’ firms for their shameless pursuit of more than 1,200 “frivolous and factually baseless lawsuits” against tobacco defendants
Judicial HellholesMaryland Lawmakers Should Investigate Asbestos Claims, Not Raise Taxes
Prompted by overtures from the politically powerful personal injury law firm of Peter Angelos, Maryland’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last Tuesday conducted a “briefing” for lawmakers on what plaintiffs’ lawyers purport is a “backlog of civil asbestos cases” in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
Judicial HellholesFirst of Missouri’s Monster Talc Verdicts Falls on Appeal, Others Likely to Follow
A Missouri appellate court yesterday reversed and vacated a $72 million verdict that was the first of four such controversial, multimillion-dollar verdicts rendered in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court in a series of scientifically groundless lawsuits claiming that the use of talcum powder causes ovarian cancer
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightFraud Arrests of 5 Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Represent ‘PIP’ of the Iceberg
According to reports published last week, at least five Florida personal injury lawyers have been arrested for their alleged roles in a car accident racket known as “PIP” fraud, but we know this represents barely the tip of the PIP fraud iceberg
Judicial HellholesSuspect in Thwarted Armed Robbery Reportedly Considering Lawsuit Against Civilian Hero
Only in hyper-litigious America would someone caught red-handed in the commission of an apparent armed robbery have the gall to consider a lawsuit against the civilian hero who courageously thwarted that robbery
Judicial HellholesATRA Critical of Giant ‘Junk Science’ Verdict in ‘Golden State for Trial Lawyers’
Citing California’s stubborn and long criticized reluctance to adopt unambiguously the more exacting Daubert standard for expert evidence used in all federal courts and roughly 80% of state court systems, the American Tort Reform Association today pointed to “the latest giant-sized junk-science verdict” there to suggest it officially change its nickname to the “Golden State for Trial Lawyers.”
Judicial HellholesSCOTUS Decision Prompts Judge in #1 Hellhole St. Louis to Declare Mistrial in Talc Case
Responding to a defense motion that cited an important 8-1 U.S. Supreme Court decision rendered earlier in the day, a St. Louis trial judge yesterday declared a mistrial in the sixth such trial there in which plaintiffs allege, contrary to widely accepted science, that the makers of talcum powder are responsible for their ovarian cancer
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightCalifornia High Court again Defies SCOTUS, Expands Civil Liability, Enriches Plaintiffs’ Lawyers
Continuing its well established trend of expanding civil liability while disregarding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the California Supreme Court did it again last week with its plaintiff-favoring decision in McGill v. Citibank, N.A.
Judicial HellholesAd Campaign in Missouri Advocates Tort Reform, Notes Influence of ‘Judicial Hellholes’ Report
Missouri Rising, a pro-business advocacy group helping to push needed civil justice reforms through the Show Me Your Lawsuits State’s legislature, began airing television ads this month which note the fact that ATRA’s latest Judicial Hellholes report named St. Louis as the nation’s #1 hellhole
Judicial Hellholes
Louisiana Litigation Seeking to Bilk Energy Companies Suffers Set-Back at Fifth Circuit
In a major development in the civil litigation targeting energy producers in Louisiana over their alleged damaging of the receding coastline there, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today unanimously affirmed the dismissal of the very first such lawsuit — wholly concocted by plaintiffs’ lawyers — filed on behalf of the Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SLFPA-E)
Judicial Hellholes, Points of Light