Junk Science Front and Center in Recent Judicial Hellholes Verdicts
The changes to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 last year were supposed to be a watershed moment for expert testimony
Judicial Hellholes
Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in Judicial Hellholes® Set Sights on New Vital Industry
ATRF has long chronicled the plaintiffs’ bars constant efforts to find their next payday. From hot coffee to baby powder,
Judicial Hellholes
Chicago Jury Rejects Junk Science in Zantac Trial
Earlier this month, a Cook County jury refused to hold Zantac drug manufacturers liable for causing a plaintiff’s colon cancer,
Points of Light
Illinois’ Punitive Damage Pandemonium: A Shameless Attack on Businesses
We enter, once again, to the wild world of Illinois politics, where the absurd and detrimental seem to go hand
Judicial HellholesWith ‘Epidemic’ of Multiple-Defendant Claims, Madison County Remains the Nation’s Leader in New Asbestos Cases
Perennial Judicial Hellhole Madison County, Illinois is not ready to give up its dubious distinction as the top asbestos litigation destination anytime soon.
According to a recent midyear report and earlier annual report by KCIC Consulting, Madison County’s asbestos filings increased by 5% from 2014 to 2015 and continued to increase during the first half of 2016. The riverside county of fewer than 270,000 people was home to 29% of the nation’s asbestos filings in the first half of 2016 – up from 25% of the nation’s asbestos filings in 2015. Now, the county sits atop the ranking with more than twice as many filings as second place Baltimore City.
Judicial HellholesSouthern Illinois Federal Court Shines Brightly in Dismissing Defendants from Non-Illinois Asbestos Exposure Claim
On 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 Light7th Circuit Serves Harsh Ethics Lesson on Chicago Shyster, Father-in-Law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit tossed out a “scandalous” settlement stemming from a Pella window consumer protection class action suit that would have paid the plaintiffs’ attorneys $11 million up front, with $2 million going to the ethically-challenged lead counsel. It’s just one more example of how state Consumer Protection Acts are abused
Judicial Hellholes#1 Hellhole Ranks as ‘Worst State for Business’
A newly released annual survey of the nation’s CEOs confirms that California, currently ranked as the #1 Judicial Hellhole, not coincidentally ranks as the worst state in which to do business, as well
Judicial HellholesIllinois High Court Decision Shines among ‘Points of Light’
Illinois’ highest court last week reversed two lower court decisions in striking down a $3.9 million dollar jury award of damages for a youngster injured while trespassing and horsing around on a moving freight train
Points of LightDog Bites Man
A recent study performed by the insurance industry says dog bite claims in 2011 cost the industry $478.9 million, a 12 percent increase from 2010. Specifically, State Farm California had 527 dog bite claims and paid more than $20.3 million as a result. This is a 31% increase in claims over 2010
Judicial HellholesWith Hellholes Leading the Way, Bogus Slip-and-Fall Claims Rise Nationwide
A just-released report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows that questionable slip-and-fall claims rose by 12% from 2010 through 2011, and not coincidentally many past and present Judicial Hellholes are where most of these bogus, bottom-feeding lawsuits are filed
Judicial HellholesOnce & Future ‘Judicial Hellholes’ Dominate New List of States with Highest Medical Lawsuit Payouts
According to 2011 data, the six states with the highest average payouts for medical liability lawsuits are all home to current or recently named Judicial Hellholes. Go figure
Judicial HellholesAsbestos Defendants Make Case against ‘Reservation’ Docket in Madison County
On Monday, March 26, more than 100 attorneys crowded into a Madison County courtroom to listen as 61 asbestos defendants asked Associate Judge Clarence Harrison to revise the court’s 2013 advance trial docket
Judicial HellholesMadison County’s Controversial Asbestos Litigation System Strikes Again
Madison County’s controversial asbestos litigation system is once again under fire and causing a stir. Recently, presiding Judge Clarence Harrison
Judicial Hellholes‘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 HellholesFour ‘Judicial Hellholes’ States Ranked as Worst for Business
No one will be surprised to learn that four states notorious for their Judicial Hellholes and Watch List jurisdictions — California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey — have been ranked by corporate CEOs as the worst in the nation for doing business
Judicial HellholesMcLean County Poised To Become Illinois’ Latest ‘Judicial Hellhole’
The biased handling of a pernicious new wave of asbestos lawsuits has McLean County poised to join Illinois’ notorious list of Judicial Hellholes
Judicial HellholesLawsuit Loan Industry Lobbies for Legalization in ‘Hellholes’ and Beyond
Taking aim at lawsuit loan industry lobbyists and investors now pushing to have their pernicious and parasitic racket legalized in several states, which, in some cases, are home to Judicial Hellholes, ATRA scored a hit with a letter to the editor published in the New York Times
Judicial HellholesReforms Sought in Madison County
“Seven businesses that constantly defend asbestos suits in Madison County have urged Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder to curtail the county’s
Judicial Hellholes