Philadelphia Judge Restores Some Sanity to Monsanto Litigation
This week, Monsanto scored its first defense verdict in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas after a string of astounding
Points of Light
Philly Living Up to Designation as Worst Judicial Hellhole
The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is now home to the largest single-plaintiff Roundup verdict in the nation after a
Judicial Hellholes
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Openly Defies SCOTUS Precedent
Yesterday, October 22, 2020, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania openly defied the U.S. Supreme Court in Hammons v. Ethicon. This was the state high court’s first
Judicial Hellholes
Philadelphia Judge Slashes $8 Billion Risperdal Verdict
ATRA is encouraged by Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Powell’s decision to slash the $8 billion punitive damages
Judicial HellholesSupreme Court’s Adoption of Novel Theories of Liability, Abusive ‘No-Injury’ Litigation, Place California atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List
Today, the American Tort Reform Foundation released its 2018-2019 Judicial Hellholes report. California tops the list, with Florida, New York City and St. Louis not far behind.
Judicial HellholesAnother Asbestos Defendant Seeks to Join RICO Litigation Against Plaintiffs’ Firms Accused of Fraud
Asbestos defendant John Crane Inc. this week filed motions in federal district court seeking to intervene in the Garlock Sealing Technologies-led fraud litigation against two plaintiffs’ law firms, Dallas-based Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett and the Shein Law Center of Philadelphia
Judicial HellholesPennsylvania’s Kane Latest State AG to Ignore Basic Principles of Law & Justice
Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania’s attorney general and a politician national Democrats had hoped might someday win a U.S. Senate seat, continued this month her embarrassing and desperate descent toward likely disbarment and a self-imposed political death sentence
Judicial HellholesPA High Court Embraces Negligent Design Defect; Invites New Run on Reforming Philly Courts
Perhaps inviting a new stampede of speculative and opportunistic litgation on the courts of the former #1 Judicial Hellhole, Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week ruled in Lance v. Wyeth that pharmaceutical companies can now be held liable for “negligent design defect” — a theory of liability not previously available to plaintiffs in the Keystone State
Judicial Hellholes, Uncategorized#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 HellholesLatest News from Philadelphia Courts Is Encouraging
Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas had 70 percent fewer mass-tort case filings in 2012 than in 2011, but out-of-state plaintiffs continued to predominate
Points of Light, UncategorizedSmall Business Advocate Makes Case for Venue Reform in Pennsylvania
The National Federation of Independent Business’s executive director in Pennsylvania, Kevin Shivers, made the case for venue reform and additional progress in improving the civil justice system during a recent television appearance on Comcast’s “Newsmakers” program, now airing throughout the Keystone State
UncategorizedReforms Drive Down Mass Tort Filings in Philadelphia
Even though some personal injury lawyers still deny that Philadelphia was a judicial hellhole in the first place, much-needed reforms imposed earlier this year by the chief administrative judge seem to have dramatically halted the explosive growth in recent years of new mass tort filings there
Judicial HellholesIf We’re a ‘Nation of Wusses,’ Blame Rendell’s Parasitic Personal Injury Lawyer Pals
Ed Rendell’s hypocritical new book predictably ignores the major role that his parasitic personal injury lawyer pals have played in the “wussification” of America
UncategorizedPennsylvania: Model for Commonsense Tort Reforms?
With its medical liability reforms last decade, enactment of the Fair Share Act last year and judicial reform of Philadelphia’s plaintiff-friendly Complex Litigation Center earlier this year, ATRA counsel Mark Behrens makes the case that Pennsylvania could become the model for commonsense state tort reforms
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightATRA Letters Keep Heat on Lawsuit Lovers in California, Pennsylvania
Recent letters to the editor by the American Tort Reform Association have kept pressure on trial lawyer-backed opponents of tort reform, both in Sacramento, California, and Phildelphia, Pennsylvania
Judicial HellholesEven in Philadelphia, ‘Progress Is Possible’
Medical liability reforms undertaken in Pennsylvania last decade have had the intended effect of reducing the number of meritless lawsuits, particularly in Philadelphia, and broader progress in other areas of tort law now seems possible, too
UncategorizedWith 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 HellholesDisgruntled Flyers Fans Take “Passion” to New Level, File Ridiculous Class Action Lawsuit against Organization
On Monday, May 6, 2012, a Jenkintown-based law firm filed a ridiculous consumer fraud class action lawsuit against Comcast Spectacor, the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers, on behalf of all 2011-2012 full season ticket holders.
Judicial HellholesATRA President Weighs in on Judicial Reforms in Philadelphia
Read ATRA president Tiger Joyce’s latest op-ed on important reform developments in Philadelphia, the #1 Judicial Hellhole
Judicial HellholesVery Good News from Philly!
After being cited as the #1 Judicial Hellhole for the past two years running, Philadelphia’s top administrative judge yesterday announced sweeping rules changes that should go a long way in mitigating the Complex Litigation Center’s troublingly plaintiff-friendly reputation
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightNew Data Add to ‘Hellholes’ Case Against Philadelphia’s ‘Complex Litigation Center’
Nearly 7 in 10 lawsuits Filed in Philadelphia’s plaintiff-friendly Complex Litigation Center have no connection to the city or to Pennsylvania, more broadly
Judicial Hellholes