Fourth Circuit Upholds West Virginia Law Regulating Deceptive Medical Legal Advertisements
On April 27th, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal court decision, ruling West Virginia’s law regulating
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Multiple States Move to Enact COVID-19 Liability Protections
Recent statistics have shown the need for state legislatures to prioritize COVID-19 liability legislation this term. As of March 23,
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West Virginia Lawmakers Introduce Reform Legislation Moving State Farther from Hellhole Status
The West Virginia legislature has taken strides this term to introduce multiple reform bills. If passed, these pieces of legislation will
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West Virginia Judge Acknowledges Abuse Fills Asbestos Docket
On February 5, 2020, Judge Ronald Wilson of Kanawha County trial court issued an order that expressly acknowledged “abuse” in his
Judicial HellholesWest 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 LightFor Now, Federal Judge Keeps Steve Mostyn from Making a Mesh of Regulatory Authority
Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. this week successfully blocked — at least for the time being — a proposed class action that alleges it had smuggled cheap counterfeit material to use in its pelvic mesh products
Points of LightCiting Latest Bombshell Allegations of Trial-Lawyer Fraud, ATRA Urges Congress, DOJ to Investigate
In light of a stunning defense motion filed today in a West Virginia federal court, alleging massive fraud on the part of plaintiffs’ lawyers in their aggressive recruitment of clients for pelvic mesh litigation, the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) renewed its call on Congress, prosecutors and bar associations to investigate and prosecute those who defraud the civil justice system
Judicial HellholesAsbestos Fraudsters Will Pay $7.3 Million to Settle CSX Transportation’s RICO Case against Them
ATRA Cites Settlement, Coming Garlock Revelations in Urging New Congress, State Legislatures to Pass Asbestos Claims Transparency Laws
Points of LightWest Virginia's Clownish High Court Allows Phantom Damages
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, arguably the most arbitrary and capricious — to say nothing of ridiculous — state high court in the nation has done it again…
Judicial HellholesJudge Orders Asbestos Fraudsters to Pay Triple Damages in Landmark RICO Case
A federal judge in West Virginia has ordered two Pittsburgh-based personal injury lawyers and a discredited radiologist to pay triple damages, or roughly $1.3 million, in a landmark case that found them liable for concocting fraudulent asbestos lawsuits
Points of LightATRA Backs ‘Transparency’ Policies of WV’s New AG
In an op-ed published today by the State Journal in West Virginia, ATRA president Tiger Joyce offered support for the state’s new attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, and his proposed transparency policies aimed at providing the public with more information about the hiring of outside counsel
Judicial HellholesAsbestos Racketeers Suffer Huge Loss, Plaintiffs’ Bar PR Campaign Devastated
With the personal injury bar gearing up a multimillion-dollar public relations and lobbying campaign in 2013 aimed at winning back some of the ground lost to ATRA and other tort reform groups in recent years, a federal jury in West Virginia took just two-and-a-half hours yesterday to return civil verdicts on all counts against two personal injury lawyers and a discredited former physician for conspiring to file fraudulent asbestos claims
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightWV Voters Finally Cast Out AG McGraw, and Other Good & Bad Election News from Judicial Hellholes
Voters in perennial judicial hellhole West Virginia have finally had enough of long-serving anti-business Attorney General Darrell McGraw. Californians rejected trial lawyer-written, lawsuit-promoting Proposition 37. And Madison County, Illinois voters incredibly retained shamed pay-to-play Judge Barbara Crowder who fomrerly oversaw the small rural county’s crooked and largest-in-the-nation asbestos docket
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightLeading West Virginia Newspaper Endorses Challenger Morrisey for Attorney General
West Virginia’s leading newspaper has endorsed challenger Patrick Morrisey over four-term incumbent Darrell McGraw in that state’s closely watched race for attorney general
Judicial HellholesJudicial Hellholes Spurring Costly Trend toward More Giant-Sized Medical Liability Awards
Judicial Hellholes California, Florida, New York and West Virginia were home to some of the most absurdly outsized (and costly to us all) medical liability verdicts since 2010.
Judicial HellholesWest Virginia Asbestos Shakedowns May Hit New High (or Low)
Eight new asbestos lawsuits filed in Kanawha County each name 190 defendants in what may be an all time high (or low, depending on one’s point of view), even in one of the more scandalous Judicial Hellholes, West Virginia
Judicial Hellholes‘Astronomically High’ Nursing Home Verdict Maintains West Virginia’s ‘Hellhole’ Reputation
A Charleston Daily Mail editorial rightly criticizes a $90.5 million verdict in a lawsuit against a nursing home that alleged negligence in the wrongful death of an 87-year-old woman who suffered from dementia
Judicial HellholesWest Virginia Court Upholds Limit on Pain & Suffering Awards in Medical Liability Lawsuits
West 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 LightFraud Suit Against Personal Injury Law Firm Reinstated
A federal appellate court today reinstated a lawsuit brought against a Pittsburgh personal injury firm for allegedly engaging in a scheme designed to generate fraudulent asbestos claims. ATRA had filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief, urging the court to take such action. The Fourth Circuit ruling clears the way for the case to move forward.
UncategorizedWest Virginia High Court Says No Lawsuits Without Injury
A 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.
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