America’s civil justice system is the world’s most expensive justice system and our nation’s legal system is in crisis. The cost is taking a toll on everyone; American employers, consumers and working families are footing this hefty bill
for lawsuit abuse (“Study Shows Florida’s Legal Climate Going Backwards,” North County Gazette, May 3, 2008).

 
Legal reform is needed across the country, especially given today’s sluggish economy and job market. Florida is a case study in its importance. When the Jeb Bush administration began in 1999, Florida’s legal climate was hurting the state’s economy. Spiraling litigation costs were quashing job creation, and lawsuit abuse was cutting wages and benefits for working people, who often are unaware of these costs because they are buried in the price of everything they buy (“Florida Offers Case Study in Worthy Legal Reform,” The Tampa Tribune, June 18, 2008).

Florida’s legal climate continues to be weakened by the attack on the state’s civil justice system by plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to two recent polls released by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform  (“Poll: Florida Legal Climate Not Good,” WCTV.tv, April 23, 2008).

 
The U. S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) is a national campaign working to raise awareness about lawsuit abuse and civil justice reform issues on both the state and federal levels. Working with concerned business owners, workers, investors and consumers, its critical mission is to make America’s legal system simpler, fairer and faster for everyone.

Founded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1998 to address the country’s litigation explosion, ILR is the only national legal reform advocate to approach reform comprehensively by not only working to change the legal culture, but also to change the legislators and judges that create that culture.

Earlier this year, the ILR, in conjunction with renowned research firm Harris Interactive, released “Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States,” its annual study examining the court systems in each state to determine which are the most fair and balanced and which are broken and in need of change. The Harris survey is the preeminent standard by which companies, policymakers and the media measure the legal environment of states.

 
In this year’s survey, Florida dropped down six spots and now ranks 42nd out of 50 states for lawsuit abuse. The study also found that Miami-Dade remains one of the 10 least fair and reasonable legal environments in the country,
primarily as a result of a growing concern among the national business community over the size of non-economic and punitive damages awarded in lawsuits filed in Florida (www.ilrflorida.org.   Accessed 8/8/08).

 
“The plaintiffs’ bar continues to chip away at Florida’s legal climate,” said William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute. “If this weakening of our civil justice system continues it will have far-reaching impacts beyond the courtroom,” he added (“Poll: Florida Legal Climate Not Good,” WCTV.tv, April 23, 2008).

Perceptions about Florida’s legal climate continues to decline, despite the passage of several key civil justice reforms in recent years. The state adopted a cap on appeal bonds to preserve due-process rights, and it established a 12-year statute of repose for product-liability cases Punitive damages were capped at three times the
compensatory award or $500,000, whichever is determined to be greater. This conforms to the original intent of tort
law, which is to compensate, not to punish. In that spirit, it also prohibited punitive damages in asbestos lawsuits. Florida also capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases (“Florida Offers Case Study in Worthy Legal Reform,” The Tampa Tribune, June 18, 2008).

 
Additionally, in 2006, Florida repealed the extortive doctrine of joint and several liability, so that defendants are now responsible for paying damages only in the proportion to their degree of fault. That ends the practice, favored by personal-injury lawyers, of adding “solvent bystanders” as defendants in lawsuits only because these defendants have deep pockets to pay big awards regardless of their degree of responsibility, if any (“Florida Offers Case Study in Worthy Legal Reform,” The Tampa Tribune, June 18, 2008).

Because of these reforms, Florida’s tort costs will certainly fall, leading to substantial benefits, including more jobs and increased innovation. Resources that would otherwise be spent on excessive liability costs could now go toward

research and development in many industries, allowing Florida to introduce beneficial products to the U.S. markets
without fearing lawsuits as much as it used to.

Of course, Florida’s plaintiffs’ attorneys continue attempting to undo these reforms, they keep coming up with new ways to weaken the civil justice system and target Florida businesses for lawsuits. During the ongoing 2008 legislative session the plaintiffs’ bar is advocating the passage of several pieces of legislation that would increasingly weaken Florida’s civil justice system, including:

Legislation to largely dismantle Florida’s arbitration system;

Creating a complex regulatory scheme for nursing homes that would make more entities responsible in nursing home negligence claims;

 
Imposing civil liabilities on the mortgages and banking industry; and

Creating several new lawsuit opportunities against insurance companies (“Poll: Florida Legal Climate Not Good,”
WCTV.tv, April 23, 2008).

They have also filed legal challenges with the Florida Supreme Court in an attempt to invalidate the workers’ compensation reforms approved by the Legislature in 2003.  Additionally, they are filing multiple legal challenges to the medical malpractice reforms also passed in 2003. Many of the challenges are focused on the limitations on attorneys’ fees, a measure that has helped stabilize workers’ compensation and medical malpractice costs which had been skyrocketing in Florida prior to the reforms (“Poll: Florida Legal Climate Not Good,” WCTV.tv, April 23, 2008).

Still, Florida has proven to the entire country that, despite opposition from the trial bar, legal reform can be achieved.
But the payoffs take time and only emerge if the reforms are fully implemented and defended from attack. So there’s
still much to be done.

 
So why does it matter if Florida’s courts are viewed as fair, anyway?  “An unfair legal system sucks the life out of a states’ economy,” said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (www.ilrflorida.org.  Accessed 8/8/08).

It affects business expansion, it affects jobs and it takes money out of consumers’ pockets. It means companies are
hesitant to do business in a state with a reputation for lawsuit abuse. Lost business means fewer jobs and stagnant
wages. Doctors quit providing medical care or leave the state because they can’t afford insurance.

“The bottom line is this: even though we’re seeing some improvements, from the perspective of global competitiveness, America’s legal climate is only as good as our worst states. So we need to keep working,” Donahue said (www.ilrflorida.org.  Accessed 8/8/08).

An unfair legal system sucks the life out of a state’s economy. Spread the word today to make reform a reality!