On the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, a civil justice watchdog group in Illinois has released its latest “Litigation Imbalance” study, the findings of which surely have the 16th president and Great Emancipator spinning in his grave
Judicial HellholesIn denying an asbestos defendant’s motion for summary judgment, notoriously plaintiff-friendly NYCAL Judge Sherry Klein Heitler succumbed to some March madness of her own, calling the motion a “drastic remedy” and relying on testimony from a witness in an unrelated case from Maryland 14 years earlier to do so. Talk about going out of your way to please the plaintiffs’ bar
Judicial Hellholes, UncategorizedATRA’s allies at Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch report that, “Despite fierce criticism from lawmakers and legal reform groups in recent years,” state Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell has revived his infamous “Buddy System,” continuing “his questionable practice of hiring outside attorneys to pursue litigation on behalf of the state” and giving much of this potentially lucrative business to “law firms and lawyers that have donated tens of thousands of dollars to his political campaign[s]”
Judicial HellholesAn editorial in Charleston, West Virginia’s leading newspaper offers kudos to lawmakers and the governor for enactment of a tort reform law that effectively overturns a notoriously bad state high court decision that a dissenting justice said explains why the state is known as a Judicial Hellhole
Points of LightCiting recent events that have further exposed the “corruption and outright fraud that have long been endemic to asbestos litigation,” the American Tort Reform Association today launched a new website that “will document the overwhelming case for substantive reforms”
UncategorizedOn February 17th and 19th, Judge Staci M. Yandle for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granted seven motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction for defendants involved in a large multi-defendant asbestos case. In each claim, the plaintiff, a former Navy worker, fell far short of alleging sufficient contacts by the defendants to the state of Illinois to satisfy constitutional due process requirements.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightAs reported by the Pennsylvania Record, mass tort filings jumped 150 percent last year in Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center (CLC), America’s #1 Judicial Hellhole in 2010 and 2011
Judicial HellholesAs discomfiting attention from federal prosecutors and the media rains down on asbestos judges comprising the nation’s #1 Judicial Hellhole, a runaway verdict to the tune of $190 million has now been dramatically reduced
Judicial HellholesIn deciding not to hear a plaintiff’s appeal, Pennsylvania’s high court has upheld application the state’s 12-year statute of repose to asbestos claims
Points of LightA spokesman for the American Tort Reform Association today called this morning’s arrest and filing of federal corruption charges against New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver a “turning point” in the effort to combat abuses in the nation’s #1 judicial hellhole
Judicial HellholesIn 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 HellholesJudicial Hellholes reporters have long kept an eye on St. Louis, Missouri, one of the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions in the nation. So in the rare instance that a judge there is willing to take even a small stand against the reflexive expansion of civil liability, it’s worthy of kudos
Points of LightMadison County hosted 1,300 new asbestos lawsuit filings in 2014. Madison County’s docket has doubled in the last four years and tripled in the last seven. Nine of ten plaintiffs who file in Madison County don’t live in Illinois. And less than 1% live in Madison County.
Judicial HellholesIn a New Year’s eve gift, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs’ lawyers can bring lawsuits seeking medical monitoring costs on behalf of people who aren’t injured. The ruling, which is contrary to the trend in state courts, will allow individuals who may never develop an illness to bring massive class actions. Unlike courts that have allowed medical monitoring claims, but placed stringent requirements on plaintiffs to avoid speculative claims, the Nevada Supreme Court “decline[d] to identify specific factors that a plaintiff must demonstrate to establish entitlement to medical monitoring as a remedy.”
Judicial HellholesWith recently unsealed documents from the Garlock bankruptcy poised to reveal still further manipulation of evidence and even outright fraud by the asbestos litigation industry, the 2014-2015 Judicial Hellholes report shines its white hot spotlight on a number of jurisdictions with active asbestos dockets — including an all-new #1 ranked Judicial Hellhole — as well as a variety of other jurisdictions where the scales of civil justice are out of balance
UncategorizedATRA Cites Settlement, Coming Garlock Revelations in Urging New Congress, State Legislatures to Pass Asbestos Claims Transparency Laws
Points of LightOn Thursday, October 30th, an Ohio jury delivered a “trick” of their own to frighteningly mischievous class action plaintiffs lawyers who have been running around scaring up unfounded complaints against the washing machine manufacturer, Whirlpool Corp. After a three week trial, the jury found in favor of Whirlpool – that the company’s front loading washing machines did not suffer from a design flaw, leading to mold accumulation.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightWith a 5-4 decision today, the Washington Supreme Court narrowly but laudably preserved the integrity of the workers’ compensation system by resisting an asbestos plaintiff’s attempt to alter longstanding interpretation of relevant state law
Points of LightIn a rare “Point of Light” in New York, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich has dismissed a commercial class action flimsily based on a claim of “theoretical defect” in heating oil
Points of LightIn the latest of several troubling decisions by the Missouri Supreme Court in recent years, it yesterday ignored both the will of “Show Me State” voters, as expressed through their elected representatives, and U.S. Supreme Court precedent on punitive damages
Judicial HellholesThe American Tort Reform Association today filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), urging the high court to hear BP’s appeal of critical class action issues stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill
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