Gov. Tom Corbett today signed the “Fair Share Act,” legislation that heralds a new day for a state’s often exploited and anticompetitive civil justice system
Points of LightA three-judge panel of Wisconsin’s District III Court of Appeals recently upheld a circuit court’s dismissal of a claim for medical monitoring damages
Points of LightWest Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals yesterday reaffirmed the constitutionality of the state’s reasonable limit on inherently subjective awards for pain and suffering in medical liability lawsuits.
Points of LightBoth the South Carolina House and Senate have now passed a major tort reform package, and the governor is expected to sign the legislation into law soon.
Points of LightUltimately ignoring the down-home country homilies of actor and former senator turned trial lawyer lobbyist Fred Thompson, the Tennessee legislature passed a major bipartisan tort reform bill last week
Points of LightIn light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC , Georgia’s highest court has put itself into contention for a “Points of Light” citation by vacating an earlier ruling that favored parents of autistic children over makers of childhood vaccines.
Points of LightFollowing a favorable House vote earlier this week, the Tennessee Senate yesterday passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011. The legislation is backed by Governor Bill Haslam, and he is expected to sign it into law soon
Points of LightQuin Hillyer’s latest commentary offers still more thoughtful support for passage of the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, now pending in Congress
Points of LightWith the House Energy and Commerce Committee poised to begin marking up H.R. 5, the “Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011,” the American Tort Reform Association has issued a paper its president says “makes a clear case that the legislation passes constitutional muster”
Points of LightThe Florida legislature today passed an important tort reform bill that will empower jurors to hear all of the relevant facts in car accident cases where negligence on the part of driver is alleged.
Points of LightAmerican Tort Reform Association general counsel Victor Schwartz recently discussed the virtues of the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, now pending in Congress, with the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small business advocate
Points of LightIn a year when many statehouses are lining up in favor of economic growth and against parasitic personal injury lawyers, Oklahoma lawmakers have sent to the governor a bill comprising reasonable limits on awards for noneconomic damages in civil lawsuits
Points of LightAs home to the reigning #1 Judicial Hellhole of Philadephia, Pennsylvania is long overdue for substantive tort reforms. Poised to spark a few Points of Light this legislative session, state lawmakers in Harrisburg are being urged by the business community and many in the media to modernize liability law by replacing the current and inherently unfair “joint and several” standard with one of “proportional” liability
Points of LightATRA general counsel Victor Schwartz will testify in support of the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (LARA) during a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution Friday morning, March 11.
Points of LightThough his ruling will likely be appealed by plaintiffs’ lawyers or their allies at the Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster in Ohio has ruled unconstitutional the so-called false marking law which has recently been exploited in a new wave of lawsuits that could bankrupt many consumer product manufacturers and kill countless jobs.
Points of LightThe District of Columbia’s highest court has rejected two claims that threatened to make the nation’s capital a magnet for consumer lawsuit abuse. The alternative, the Court recognized, “would open our courts to any person from anywhere who decides to lodge a complaint labeled as a ‘representative action’ . . . even though that person has suffered no injury-in-fact related to a District of Columbia merchant’s unlawful trade practice”
Points of LightJudicial Hellholes® reporters stand by the decision to include California at #2 in their recent rankings of the least fair civil court jurisdictions in the nation. But they admit to missing a laudable appeals court decision there last fall when researching the latest Judicial Hellholes report and now wish to give credit where credit is due
Points of LightA federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a man who got into a shootout at a bar, then sued the bar owner for his medical expenses, mental anxiety, inconvience, and pain and suffering. Although his federal case is dismissed, he could refile in a Pennsylvania state court. It wouldn’t be the first time that a bar patron succeeded in such a lawsuit in Pennsylvania state courts.
Points of LightNew York’s highest court today affirmed dismissal of a case brought by one golf buddy against another that was cited as an example of the litigiousness for which New York City gained a mention on this year’s “Watch List.”
Points of LightA ruling by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday shows why the state is no longer named ATRA’s #1 Judicial Hellhole and provides an encouraging sign for further improvement of the state’s civil justice climate.
In White v. Wyeth, the state’s highest court recognized the basic principle that an individual who sues under a consumer protection statute must show that he or she actually relied on the allegedly deceptive advertisement or practice to recover damages.
Points of LightWhile moving its Judicial Hellholes® program to an online format that will feature year-round reporting on significant civil justice developments, the American
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