The
Sun-Times gets my 2 cents (rather than 50):
Regarding the May 2, 2005, commentary by Lisa A. Rickard, "Lawsuits choking state's economy":
Lisa Rickard is absolutely right that there is an "abusive legal climate" in Illinois. However, like others arguing for "tort reform," she fails to acknowledge that businesses are more responsible for this abuse than are "trial lawyers": According to a study by Public Citizen, corporations "file four times [in Cook County, almost six times] as many lawsuits as do individuals represented by trial attorneys, and they are penalized by judges much more often for pursuing frivolous litigation." So while there are certainly many frivolous tort claims filed by "trial lawyers," the much greater problem -- ignored by pro-corporate shills like Rickard -- is the out-of-control litigiousness of corporate lawyers.
Jason Guthartz
Lakeview
Here's
that study. From
the summary:
Corporations think America is too litigious only when they are on the receiving end of a lawsuit. But when they feel aggrieved, businesses are far more likely to take their beef to court than are consumers.
I should have also referred to these facts (taken from
this article):
[T]he numbers don't support the corporate claims. The frequency of tort suits has been declining for a decade. According to an April 2004 Department of Justice study, the number of tort cases in state courts declined by nearly a third (32 percent) between 1992 and 2001. Only 3 percent of cases ever go to trial and the median jury trial award fell by more than half, from $64,000 in 1992 to $28,000 in 2001.
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