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General Motors
Chairman Rick Wagoner's recent opinion piece called on Congress
to create a "level playing field" to help U.S. manufacturers,
especially automakers, better compete with foreign-based rivals.
An essential step, he argued, is for Congress to enact
civil-justice reforms protecting American companies from junk
lawsuits ("GM wants level playing field, not a bailout," Dec.
7).
Chairman Wagoner's
argument for legal reform is undeniable. But many years and
millions of dollars have already been spent trying to persuade
Congress to address litigation abuses. And, unfortunately, there
is not much to show for the effort.
Years of fruitless
efforts in Washington have created many legal reform groups that
are focusing on the states. The American Justice Partnership (AJP),
created this year by the National Manufacturers Association and
its president, former Gov. John Engler, is devoted entirely to
reform at the state level, and we are getting results.
In Georgia, an
alliance of the business, medical and legal-reform groups helped
to pass one of the most comprehensive civil-justice reform
packages in the nation.
In South Carolina,
reform efforts this year yielded the Comprehensive Civil Justice
Reform Act, applying limits to legal liability and judicial
venues, and imposing sanctions on attorneys filing frivolous
lawsuits. Texas and other states have acted to rid themselves of
groundless, expensive asbestos claims, by restoring the
discretion of trial court judges to dismiss lawsuits with little
or no connection to the state.
The chairman of
General Motors is a welcome voice in this effort. But he and
other business leaders can do the most good by turning their
attention to the states, where legal reform has proved to be a
winning cause.
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