|
Washington,
D.C., October 27, 2005 — The
American
Tort Reform Association (ATRA) today applauded
members of the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2005 (LARA), H.R. 420, by a vote
of 228-184.
“This common-sense
legislation will help put an end to some of the worst abuses of
our civil justice system—frivolous lawsuits and forum shopping,”
said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. “We commend
Representative Lamar Smith for introducing this important
legislation and House members for their support. We look forward
to helping advance this legislation on behalf of the millions of
businesses that have been or are potential victims of lawsuit
abuse and urge the Senate to act on it quickly.”
Joyce observed: “Far
too often the system allows, in effect, legal extortion. The
threat of costly and lengthy litigation forces businesses to
settle frivolous claims that could potentially put them out of
business. While it costs the plaintiff only a little more than a
small filing fee to begin a lawsuit, it costs much more for a
small business to defend against it.”
H.R. 420 would deter
the filing of frivolous lawsuits by placing the cost of
defending frivolous claims on the lawyers who bring them.
LARA also would put
an end to forum shopping or “litigation tourism” by properly
limiting the filing of personal injury claims to places where
plaintiffs live or were hurt, or in the jurisdiction of the
defendant’s principal place of business.
The legislation was
favorably reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary May
25 by a vote of 19-11. LARA was reintroduced January 26 in the
U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Lamar Smith
(TX)Last year, the House passed the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act
of 2004 (H.R. 4571) on September 14, 2004, by a bipartisan vote
of 229-174.
|
