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 Washington,
DC, July 21, 2005 —
A new report released today by the American Tort Reform
Association (ATRA) chronicles a trend of state enactment of
meaningful, comprehensive civil justice reform legislation.
During the past two years, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio
and South Carolina have continued the momentum that began in
2003 with significant civil justice reform successes in Texas.
Details are available in ATRA’s semi-annual Tort Reform
Record, released today and available at
www.atra.org.
“While every year
there are states that pass meaningful individual reforms, we
have seen a trend toward comprehensive civil justice reform
legislation,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. “After seeing
the positive impacts of the 2003 legislation in Texas, several
other states have followed suit in passing comprehensive reform
measures that will boost their economies, create jobs and
prevent doctors and businesses from fleeing to other states.”
Mississippi and Ohio
passed comprehensive reform legislation in 2004 with
Mississippi’s bill passing during a special session called by
Governor Haley Barbour. Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina
passed reform legislation in 2005.
“Passage of the
legislation in many of these states was the culmination of
several years of effort put forth by policymakers, grassroots
organizations, and the business community,” Joyce said.
“Without the tireless efforts of these groups, these reforms may
never have passed in the face of opposition and numerous
setbacks.”
Governor Barbour led
the way for reform in Mississippi, when he called a special
session in 2004 to address tort reform issues. The result was a
comprehensive package containing: product liability reform;
joint and several liability reform; jury service reform; medical
malpractice reform; noneconomic damages reform; venue reform;
and punitive damages reform.
Ohio became the
second state that same year to pass a comprehensive bill that
included: noneconomic damages reform; obesity litigation reform;
product liability reform; and punitive damages reform.
Medical malpractice
reform issues drove the tort reform movement in South Carolina
and Georgia in 2005, with leaders initially mobilizing behind
those issues before tackling more comprehensive reform for the
business community. While Georgia included medical and economic
reforms in one comprehensive bill, South Carolina passed two
separate pieces of legislation. Medical malpractice reforms in
both states include limits on noneconomic damages and
strengthened standards for lawsuits against emergency medical
professionals.
Newly-elected
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) played a key role in the passage of
the comprehensive Missouri bill in 2005. Former Gov. Bob Holden
(D) had vetoed similar legislation in 2003 and 2004.
“We commend
governors, state legislators, business leaders and community
groups for tackling tort reform in their states and gaining
successes that will help make their states more positive
environments for their citizens,” Joyce said.
ATRA’s Record
is a semi-annual report listing state-by-state civil justice
reforms enacted since 1986, the year ATRA was founded.
View Tort
Reform Record (PDF)
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