|
Washington, D.C.,
May 17, 2005—The Lawsuit Abuse Reform Coalition (LARC)
is urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee
on the Judiciary to support the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of
2005 (LARA), H.R. 420, which is scheduled for markup tomorrow.
“This common-sense
legislation would help millions of small businesses that have
been or are potential victims of some of the worst abuses of our
civil justice system—frivolous lawsuits and forum shopping,”
said Tiger Joyce, LARC Chairman and President of the American
Tort Reform Association (ATRA). “These abuses are a threat to a
broad spectrum of American businesses and their employees.”
Joyce also 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 civil tort claims to places
where plaintiffs live or were hurt, or in the jurisdiction of
the defendant’s principal place of business.
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.
LARC was recently
formed by a broad spectrum of organizations representing small
business and millions of employers to work for enactment of
LARA. LARC includes more than 100 organizations. The membership
list is available at www.atra.org, along with detailed
information about H.R. 420 and why it is needed.
LARC was formed in
partnership among ATRA, the National Association of
Manufacturers (NAM), the National Association of
Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB), the National Restaurant Association
(NRA), and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR).
### |
