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New study renews call for legal reform in Pennsylvania
State ranks dead last due to litigation climate that discourages growth, job creation Pennsylvania ranked dead last in a new study on states' legal climates. The Boardroom Guide to Litigation: An Analysis of the Legal Climates in all 50 States is the third annual collaboration of Directorship and the Foundation for Fair Civil Justice, a national coalition of more than 70 organizations working together to achieve business liability reforms at the state level. The study looked at rule of law – meaning that a state's Supreme Court majority or attorney general respects the will of the legislature and resists legislating from the bench or regulating through litigation; punitive damages; non-economic damages; economic damages; statutes of repose; insurance loss ratios; litigation risks; and monetary tort losses. The report noted that new empirical evidence demonstrates that tort and business liability reforms enacted over the past 20 years created jobs, lowered consumer costs, reduced insurance costs and increased business investment and innovation. The study summary specifically singled out Pennsylvania for its poor performance, noticing that it has generally lagged in its litigation environment. The report noted that Pennsylvania's liability climate strongly discourages job creation and growth, and shows no sign of improvement in the near future. It noted that Attorney General Tom Corbett is a rule-of-law advocate, but that the governor's appointment of Jane Greenspan to the Supreme Court tipped the balance of the court to favor an activist majority. Pennsylvania ranked 47th in last year's study. North Dakota was listed as the state with the top ranking, with Indiana, Alaska, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Texas also receiving high marks for litigation climates that favor growth and job creation. Lawsuit abuse reform remains a top priority for PA Chamber members. Recently, House Minority Whip Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, reintroduced legislation that would reform the unfair legal doctrine of joint and several liability, which the governor vetoed the last time the bill made it to his desk, despite bipartisan support for the legislation. Read more on the results of a similar study, which again gave Pennsylvania low marks for its legal climate. Click here to read more about the PA Chamber's legal reform priorities. |
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