West Virginia tops ‘judicial hellhole’ report again
by admin on 16/12/08 at 1:29 pm
Charleston Daily Mail
Dec 16, 2008
The American Tort Reform Association has again ranked West Virginia the top “judicial hellhole” in the country in its annual report on courts it considers flawed. But a state-based trial lawyers group calls the report “phony” and little more than “propaganda” funded by corporations that are often the targets of the lawsuits the Washington-based tort reform group criticizes. “West Virginians are sick and tired of ATRA’s scare tactics,” said Allan N. Karlin, president of the West Virginia Association of Justice in a statement. “West Virginians resent ATRA’s disingenuous attack on the integrity of our hardworking judges and citizen jurors. ATRA has been getting away with this nonsense long enough.” West Virginia ranked fourth in last year’s report and first in the 2006 report. The report faults the state for “its near perfect storm of anti-business rulings, massive lawsuits and cozy relationships between the personal injury bar, the state attorney general and some in the judiciary.” The report, while very critical of the state, breaks no new ground that West Virginians aren’t already aware of. For instance, the group’s first example of why it considers the state’s courts faulty is a $382 million dollar verdict against DuPont in Harrison County. In that class action case, which DuPont is appealing, residents in and around a DuPont chemical plant in Spelter prevailed in a lawsuit that alleged the company was contaminating the environment and endangered their health. The report criticizes decisions like this, saying other states do not give cash awards to plaintiffs that haven’t experienced symptoms of illness. “Most states that have recently considered the issue either reject such a cause of action entirely or require that damages go toward medical expenses,” the report says. “Yet West Virginia’s speculative law allows thousands of plaintiffs to sue for future injuries and receive awards that can then be used to buy cars, vacation getaways or anything else they choose.” The group goes on to damn West Virginia for allowing huge mass trials involving thousands of plaintiffs and dozens of defendant companies. The group says this puts pressure on companies to settle the cases, and limits their ability to fight individual claims. Lawmakers tried to curb so-called “forum shopping” with a law that put limits on out-of-state interests filing lawsuits in the state. The state Supreme Court struck down that law, saying it violated the constitution, so legislators had to pass another venue law. The report criticizes this, saying that courts in other states have upheld venue laws and that the lawmakers’ second attempt at the law is “less effective” than the first. The report also criticizes the state Supreme Court for interpreting workers’ compensation law too broadly and allowing injured workers to file lawsuits that should be handled through compensation claims. The group says this trend is “swallowing” the intent of the workers’ compensation system. West Virginia also is jabbed for not having an intermediate court of appeals, allowing for automatic judicial review. The state’s Supreme Court reviews petitions and decides which ones merit a full review. “The practical reality of that almost unique combination is that a defendant has no assurance of judicial review of a completely lawless decision,” the report says. Another troublesome aspect of the state’s legal climate, according to the report, is the long criticized practice of Attorney General Darrell McGraw of hiring private law firms to represent the state in lawsuits. Law firms that serve as deputy attorneys general in these cases often reap millions in legal fees. “It is a lucrative arrangement that has the potential to put profit before justice,” the report says. The American Tort Reform Association was founded in 1986 by the American Council of Engineering Companies, according to its Web site. The American Medical Association joined later. The group describes its membership as consisting of “nonprofits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.”
