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Georgia's
Republican-led legislature sent shock waves through the trial
lawyer industry last year by passing the Tort Reform Act, which
restored some measure of common sense and fairness to the
state's legal system.
Given the high stakes
-- especially the loss of huge amounts of money in excessive
legal fees -- it was no surprise that the trial bar launched a
furious counterattack. Before the ink was even dry on Gov. Sonny
Perdue's signature, wealthy trial lawyers began challenging
important reform measures in court and recruiting new allies in
the legislature.
The bad news for
legal reform supporters in the business community is the trial
lawyer industry is making progress -- on both fronts.
Last month, the
Georgia Supreme Court struck down a key component of the Tort
Reform Act's venue-shopping provision. The 2005 Tort Reform Act
curtailed the practice of "venue-shopping" by giving defendants
the right to choose where a case is heard, so long as one of the
defendants operates there. Although similar reform measures have
been upheld in other states, the Georgia Supreme Court struck it
down, giving the trial bar a green light to restart this abusive
practice.
The Court's decision
should send a strong signal to legal reform supporters that
passing good legislation isn't enough. Electing judges who
understand the need to end trial lawyer abuse is equally
important. Four members of the Georgia Supreme Court face
re-election this November; the votes of three of those justices
to overturn the venue-shopping restrictions give us a good idea
where they stand.
The threat to legal
reform doesn't stop with the courts. Unbelievably, a handful of
Republicans in the legislature are leading the fight to turn
back several other important reforms.
Sen. Joseph Carter,
R-Tifton, has introduced legislation that would make it easier
for trial lawyers to sue emergency room physicians. Five other
Republican senators have joined in this effort to put emergency
room docs back in the trial bar's cross hairs.
Will these setbacks
be temporary? That depends on the commitment of Georgia's
Republican leadership, the state's business community and other
legal reform supporters.
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