Cross-posted from Tort Deform

On May 7th Rick Cohen wrote an enlightening piece for Tort Deform about Hank Greenberg. As stated by Cohen:

In well publicized run-ins with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the former Attorney General of New York, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg became an avatar of the corporate movement to overturn Sarbanes-Oxley and to promote so-called tort reform. The SEC’s investigation of AIG had prompted the corporation to ease Greenberg out of the top slot.

Cross-posted from “Family Law Civil Gideon: are free lawyers always the best approach” on the Self-Help Law ExPress.

With all due respect to an experienced supporter of pro se litigants, I take great issue with David Giacalone’s characterization of civil Gideon and the effects that it would have on those who can’t afford lawyers in important civil proceedings.

To learn about the serious threat posed by mandatory arbitration agreements read an article I co-authored with Jordan Fogal on AlterNet:

Why an Ultra-Conservative Texas Grandmother Hates the GOP

By Cyrus Dugger and Jordan Fogal, Drum Major Institute.

What could make Jordan Fogal, a 61-year-old ultra-conservative Republican grandmother from Texas, refuse to vote for a single Republican in the last election? Two innocent sounding words: mandatory arbitration. (keep reading)

To hear more from Jordan Fogal you can listen to her talk about arbitration on her two podcasts with the Drum Major Institute.

Podcast Series: Arbitrating Away The American Dream (Vol 1)

Podcast Series: Arbitrating Away The American Dream (Vol. 2) – “The Stupid People”

Tort Deform

Awhile back, David Nieporent wrote a response to a post by Eric Turkewitz on his New York Personal Injury Law Blog that was cross-posted here on Tort Deform. They were engaged in a debate over the merits of “apology laws” that allow doctors to show regret at the outcome of a procedure, but without it being used against them in a subsequent medical malpractice claim.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

Just got back from a short vacation. I’m refreshed and ready to launch back into the world that is Tort Deform. To warmly greet me in the blogosphere is a revealing (and ill-timed) post by David Nieporent of Overlawyered.

His post titled “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can make me rich” ridicules an African-American couple who were refused service and subjected to racial slurs for deciding to sue the store from which they attempted to make their purchase. The post, and the tone that it takes, is ironic in that it follows the recent fallout from Don Imus’s own racially disparaging remarks.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

The blogosphere is currently abuzz with news of the Menufoods pet food recall. For as yet undisclosed reasons, a recent batch of pet food from Menufoods was killing pets by way of liver failure. Stephanie Mencimer, author of the most recent book about the tort “reform” movement, made an interesting point about the forthcoming litigation:

On the other hand, much as I feel for the pet owners, I have to confess secretly hoping that this line of litigation doesn't go anywhere. The civil justice system has enough fodder for "reformers" to ridicule as it is. Can you imagine these cases going to court? The causation arguments alone will be enough to keep late night talk shows in fits for months.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

For those of you who have tuned in to our “Tort ‘Reform’ Hypocrites” series, you already have insight into the quickly shifting stances of at least some important public supporters of tort “reform.”

Some of you may also have read my op-ed on the topic as well.

It’s a pretty large phenomenon: public supporters of tort “reform” who when injured waste no time turning to the courts to utilize the very legal avenues they publicly criticize and attempt to foreclose through their public advocacy and lobbying.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

I recently read Walter Olson’s (Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute) op-ed in Times of London. There’s a lot in there that I’d like to spend time discussing, but I’ll just focus on this one misleading representation.

In his overview of the state of civil litigation in America, Olson describes the Katrina homeowners insurance lawsuits in the following manner:

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

Today, the NY Times has a story reporting that the recently deceased symbolic representative for sick Ground Zero Workers and first responders did not "rush" to Ground Zero in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as reported by some news sources. Instead, he served near Ground Zero beginning a little over three months after the attacks. When asked why they did not correct what became the public story the widow said she was too busy grieving as her husband came near to and eventually succumbed to death. The son, who went to the State of the Union with Senator Clinton as her guest to help bring attention to the issue, said that he did not know the exact details of his father's work at Ground Zero and did not know the representation in the press to be different than the reality.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

Juries, especially civil juries, instill some of the habits of the judicial mind into every citizen, and just those habits are the very best way of preparing people to be free.... They make all men feel that they have duties toward society and that they take a share in its government. By making men pay more attention to things other than their own affairs, they combat that individual selfishness which is like rust in society.... [The jury] should be regarded as a free school which is always open and in which each juror learns his rights, . . and is given practical lessons in the law. .. I think that the main reason for the ... political good sense of the Americans is their long experience with juries in civil cases." - Alexis de Tocqueville

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

After he was invited to attend the State of the Union Address by Senator Clinton, after his father died hours before the State of the Union, and after a direct public plea to the President in the wake of his father's death, only then did President Bush finally agreed to meet with Ceasar Borja Jr. last week. Similarly, as a result of Borjas's lobbying and publicity, the President also pledged $25 million in additional funding to support monitoring and treatment for Ground Zero workers and responders.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

For those who have been with us since the beginning of Tort Deform, you have heard us talk about how the challenges faced by the Ground Zero workers are in many ways emblematic of all those seeking justice in our nations’ courts and administrative bureaucracies. Hopefully, those readers who have recently joined have also been exposed to this narrative.

The issue of funding for sick Ground Zero Workers has reached a high point in publicity thanks to the efforts of Ceasar Borja Jr. Ceasar’s father was a NYC police officer for 20 years who died of a Ground Zero related illness hours before his son attended the State of the Union address in order to bring increased attention to the suffering and neglect of Ground Zero workers and responders.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform

I feel at this point there has been enough discussion on this blog for readers to understand my critique of the government’s response to the environmental effects of Ground Zero, as well as how the city and federal government have allowed and encouraged the unnecessary legal hurdles standing between our heroes and compensation and support.

Indeed, the EPA, at the apparent behest of our Chief Executive, was a major cause of the environmental impact because it falsely stated that Ground Zero was safe for human habitation. The newest story from the Associated Press:

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

DATE: August 23, 1971

TO: Mr. Eugene B. Sydnor, Jr., Chairman, Education Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

FROM: Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

This memorandum is submitted at your request as a basis for the discussion on August 24 with Mr. Booth (executive vice president) and others at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The purpose is to identify the problem, and suggest possible avenues of action for further consideration.

Yesterday I opened an account with Washington Mutual. I’ve always sort of hated Bank of America. When I’ve had questions about my account or an online banking issue they have not been super helpful, and they charge me for my checking account. Moreover, for a long time (although no longer) Washington Mutual gave free access to their atms, and so I just grew to like them (as was likely the intended purpose).

Bank of America also employs a practice that seems geared towards increasing overdraft fees.

As succinctly explained on Wikipedia:

Excessive overdraft fees

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog
Today’s NY Times reports that federal officials believe the money contributed by the federal government to help treat sick Ground Zero first responders and workers will run out by the summer or possibly the spring. Tort Deform has had a great deal written on the many inadequacies of the governmental and business responses to the environmental effects of the 9/11 attack and their connection to our civil justice system. In doing so, we have explained the plight of workers attempting to get compensation for their medical expenses, as well as for financial support them when their 9/11 related injuries keep them from working.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

Arbitrating Away the American Dream (Vol 1): One Conservative Grandmother's Battle With Mandatory Arbitration

Mandatory arbitration? What does that even mean? How can it affect me?

Right now, if you have a new home, new car, car lease, credit card, bank account, cell phone, storage room, utilities, or an exterminator you more than likely have one. Since you probably don't know what it is, and since you probably have one, it might make sense to learn more about the devastating effect that this type of agreement can have on your life.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

hyp‧o‧crite  [hip-uh-krit]
–noun

1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements

Awhile back in response to my op-ed “Sue as I Say, Not as I Sue” criticizing Stephen Roberts (the head of the W. Virginia Chamber of Commerce) in the West Virginia Record for filing a lawsuit that the reforms he advocates for would have limited, Ted Frank (Director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Liability Project) wrote a post on overlawyered.com “A Thought on ‘Hypocrisy’ Allegations.”

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

Over on the Tortellini there’s an excellent post on the questionable access to justice credentials of the rising Democratic star Barack Obama. I might also note that Obama got a "C" on the Drum Major Institute’s Middle-Class Scorecard in large part because of his support for the ironically labeled Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

In the final phase of its response to the events of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the beginning of a $7 million program to test indoor spaces in Lower Manhattan.

"It is time to begin this final phase in EPA's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11," said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator. "We hope that the program will provide peace of mind to people who live and work in Lower Manhattan."- EPA Press Release 12/06/2006  

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

Highway Robbery:

The High Cost of Automobile
Insurance in New York



The Office of the New York City Comptroller just released a report disclosing the disproportionately high profits as well as high premiums for auto insurance in New York.

Here's an overview from the report:

Since 2001, New York's status as one of the most expensive states to insure an automobile has been reinforced by statewide premium increases that were substantially greater than the inflation rate and exceeded 40 percent in much of New York City for some major insurers.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

If anybody has been up late at night thinking about how to make the next Enron scandal happen as quickly as possible, they need look no further than the recommendations soon to be released by a committee created by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [a similar group known as the Paulson Committee released its own recommendations today].

Just a few years after the Enron scandal, big business is apparently trying to immunize itself from criminal prosecutions and private shareholder civil suits by rolling back the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. This legislation was overwhelming passed by Congress (House 423-3; Senate 99-0) to attempt to deal with the very problems highlighted by the Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco scandals.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

Here are some helpful tips for tort “reformers” across the country to help them properly frame their messaging. If this rhetoric sounds familiar to other readers, it’s because you’ve been hit with this messaging on tort “reform” for a number of years now.

This post is just a glimpse into the political playbook of the tort “reform” movement and their political supporters.

The author of these tips is Frank Luntz.

Frank Luntz helped Newt Gingrich put together his "Contract With America" in 1994.

An op-ed that I wrote on tort deform was published in the West Virginia Record: Sue as I say, not as I sue.

NEW YORK -- In recent years, the courts of West Virginia have been a favorite target of the self-labeled tort "reform" movement.

In West Virginia, and across the nation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and state chambers are attempting to push forward what they term tort "reforms." These legislative initiatives limit, constrict, and sometimes eliminate Americans' ability to go to court when they are injured by others' misconduct.

Cross-posted from Tort Deform: The Civil Justice Defense Blog

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, the federal government was attempting to create guidelines for proving Ground Zero related deaths from autopsies that included a hard to meet burden of proof. At the time I wrote the previous post, the federal government’s agency had submitted their Draft Guidelines for public comment.