‘Organic’ Advocates Seek to Influence Madison County Atrazine Case
We’ll post more about this soon, but sources tell Judicial Hellholes reporters that a would-be WikiLeaks-like website is poised to
Judicial HellholesRetired Texas Judge to Argue Patent Cases in His Old Court
And some folks wondered why the latest Judicial Hellholes report placed the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (ED Texas) — and all the patent trolls who flock to it — at the top of its Watch List. Well, wonder no more.
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 HellholesATRA, Others Urge Philadelphia Courts to Eliminate Unfair Elements of Civil Litigation
ATRA has joined a number of like-minded organizations in offering comments that urge Philadelphia civil courts to end the use of unfair procedures known as “consolidation” and “reverse bifurcation” in mass tort cases
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightRecord Asbestos Verdict in Mississippi Thrown Out
The $322 million verdict in a Mississippi case that would have been “as funny as ‘My Cousin Vinny’ if it weren’t for [the] terribly negative impact on the Magnolia State’s efforts to compete in attracting businesses and jobs” has been thrown out.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightPhiladelphia, Worst of the ‘Judicial Hellholes,’ May Be Working to Improve Its Lousy Reputation
Deny as they might that Philadelphia’s civil courts have earned their #1-ranking among Judicial Hellholes for the last two years, it appears judges there have nonetheless undertaken some potentially meaningful reforms.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightMadison County Judge Removed from Asbestos Docket
Just before the latest Judicial Hellholes® report was released last December 15, Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder was barred by
Judicial HellholesLatest Report Names Philadelphia as the Worst of the ‘Judicial Hellholes®’ While Courts in California, West Virginia, Florida, Illinois, New York and Nevada Also Make the List
State and local economies continue to struggle with slow growth and high unemployment and, not coincidentally, some of those struggling
UncategorizedOn Pennsylvania Radio, ATRA Notes New Study on Reining #1 ‘Judicial Hellhole,’ Philadelphia
As Pennsylvania’s General Assembly considers important “venue reform” legislation (H.B. 1552), ATRA legislative director Matt Fullenbaum is voicing his support for the bill on statewide radio
Judicial HellholesManhattan Institute Allies Keep Heat on Pay-to-Play Attorneys General
ATRA’s allies at the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy have published their latest edition of Trial Lawyers, Inc., this time examining the increasingly troubling relationships between many state attorneys general and their personal injury lawyer political patrons
UncategorizedGAO Report: Claimants Could Seek to Defraud Secretive Asbestos Trusts
A long awaited government report on the secretive workings of asbestos trust funds says, among other things, “the possibility exists that a claimant could file the same medical evidence and altered work histories with different trusts” and thus fraudulently seek to collect from multiple trusts.
UncategorizedState High Court Removes ‘Automatic Hellhole’ Judge from Asbestos Case in Mississippi
Mississippi’s supreme court yesterday issued a unanimous order that removes a biased trial judge from further involvement with a record-setting asbestos case
Points of LightJudge Let Anti-Wal*Mart Crank Sue for 2¢
A small-town judge in Western Pennsylvania let an anti-Wal*Mart crank sue the world’s largest retailer for two cents, and then awarded her $100 plus court costs.
Judicial Hellholes‘Half-Man’ Sheen’s Lawsuit against Warner Bros., Lorre Fades to Black
Since we reported the beginning of Charlie Sheen’s $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre, we feel obligated to report its merciful end.
Judicial HellholesCaveat Emptor, for Crying out Loud!
American Tort Reform Association communications director Darren McKinney fired up a comment to an online UPI story he sees as too sympathetic to trial lawyers and class actions
Uncategorized‘Sue’ York City’s Corporation Counsel Calls for Tort Reform
In a cry for help that will almost certainly be ignored by Albany lawmakers who are wholly owned by the plaintiffs’ bar, New York City corporation counsel Michael Cardozo yesterday called for tort reform
Judicial HellholesNew York: Good, Bad & Ugly
The latest news out of once-and-future judicial hellhole New York, aka “Sue York,” can be described as good, bad and ugly
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightLos Angeles Newscast Catches ADA Fraudster on Daily Hike
Local TV new cameras recently caught a Los Angeles area serial plaintiff out for his daily hike, even though the scores of Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits he’s filed against small businesses there claim he’s disabled by “end-stage emphysema” and largely confined to a wheelchair
Uncategorized‘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 HellholesYet Another Personal Injury Lawyer Indicted for Bribing a Judge
If anyone ever doubted that former tort kingpin Dickie Scruggs, now serving federal prison time for the attempted bribery of a judge, was a much emulated role model for up and coming ambulance chasers, this Associated Press story published by Bloomberg/Businessweek should end all such doubt
UncategorizedWill Surging Patent Litigation Make Eastern Texas the First Federal Court District to Be Declared a ‘Judicial Hellhole’?
Echoing growing concerns voiced by the high-tech and finanacial service sectors, ATRA president Tiger Joyce’s August 24 letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal criticizes the patent troll-friendly federal courts in the Eastern District of Texas
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