Institute for Legal Reform (ILR)

Issues Resource Center

Use this Resource Center to explore comprehensive information on civil justice reform issues.

States Resource Center

Learn more about the status of lawsuit abuse and civil justice reform issues in each state.

ILR Research

Tort Liability Costs for Small Business

ILR's new study shows that small businesses shoulder a tremendous burden of the nation’s tort liability costs, having paid $105.4 billion in 2008.

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Download the study (pdf)

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

August Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll – The 'Be Gentle on the Criminal' Edition

Batman beware: the next time the Dark Knight sets off to foil the plans of a villainous mastermind determined to wreak havoc upon the good people of Gotham City, he better be gentle in his crime fighting efforts or else he could wind up embroiled in an expensive lawsuit. At least that’s the lesson to be learned from a contender in this month’s Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll, in which a would-be bicycle thief is suing the three men who captured him, claiming he is the victim of a rough citizen’s arrest....

U.S. Chamber Says Study Could Lead to Fix of Broken Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust System

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) applauds a new study released by the RAND Institute for Civil Justice that provides the foundation for debate over how to reform the broken asbestos bankruptcy trust system. The RAND study is the first phase of a major research project investigating the bankruptcy compensation system for asbestos claimants.

California Supreme Court Decision will Help Contingency Fee Lawyers at the Expense of the State

Statement of ILR President Lisa A. Rickard on Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court of California in County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court (Atlantic Richfield Co) allowing state municipalities to hire outside contingency fee lawyers:

“The California Supreme Court’s decision to allow government entities to partner with private lawyers in contingency fee lawsuits will not only result in more litigation, but will further burden the state’s ability to create jobs and emerge from its worst economic situation since the Great Depression.

“While today’s decision provides more uncertainty for America’s job creators, it gives clarity to the lawsuit industry and plaintiffs’ lawyers looking to expand into a new area of litigation..."

U.S. Chamber Applauds Congressional Inquiry Into Treasury’s Consideration of $1.6 Billion Trial Lawyer Tax Break

Statement of Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, on the letter sent July 23rd by Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Dave Camp to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner regarding Treasury’s consideration of a $1.6 billion tax break for plaintiffs’ lawyers:

“Senator Grassley and Congressman Camp are right to question Treasury’s possible enactment of a special interest tax break for plaintiffs’ lawyers without the approval of Congress.

“For the past three years, the trial lawyer lobby has been pushing Congress to enact a $1.6 billion tax cut for plaintiffs’ lawyers that would increase abusive litigation and add to the deficit. With support in Congress woefully lacking, the trial bar is trying to circumvent our elected representatives and get Treasury to enact their special interest tax break by fiat.

“At a time of high unemployment and record deficits, Washington should be working to put Americans back to work, not increase the deficit while subsidizing frivolous lawsuits. I applaud Senator Grassley and Congressman Camp for questioning this brazen end run around our democratic process.”

Upcoming Event

The 11th Annual Legal Reform Summit will be held on October 27th at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, and will feature a discussion of the 2010 elections with renowned political strategists Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie.

This day-long gathering of leaders in the legal reform community will also explore a variety of timely topics including liability issues stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the sweeping new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the role of state attorneys general in financial services enforcement, fraud and abuse in litigation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and trends in class action litigation.

Learn More

News Headlines

EDITORIAL: Malpractice caps saved W.Va. medicine
Charleston Daily Mail | September 2, 2010
Probe chief to issue Wall St data
Financial Times | September 1, 2010
SEC won't pursue fraud case against Moody's
Washington Post | September 1, 2010
New Breed of Patent Claim Bedevils Product Makers
Wall Street Journal | September 1, 2010
Business pleads for U-turn on disclosure ruling
Financial Times | September 1, 2010

Today's News

Fox News reports the American Medical Association and 90 other medical groups sent a letter to the Treasury Department on Wednesday urging them to drop a proposal that would allow lawyers to deduct litigation expenses, which would “increase the cost of health care in our nation.”

John Stossel in the Washington Examiner writes that the Americans with Disabilities Act, while well-intentioned, has led to a “landslide of lawsuits by professional plaintiffs,” enriching plaintiffs’ lawyers and serial litigants at the cost of business owners and the disabled. Visit FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org to see the effect frivolous ADA and other lawsuits have on small businesses.

A school district in West Virginia has decided to remove all swing sets from their playgrounds, citing increasing costs related to litigation, reports the Associated Press.

Pointing out that West Virginia was experiencing a doctor shortage before the legislature instituted a cap on non-economic medical malpractice awards, the Charleston Daily Mail hopes the state Supreme Court does not overturn the cap, which would “cause pain and suffering in the state as the exodus of physicians resumed.”