What Others Are Saying


 

From Illiniois

"Illinois has one of the worst climates in the nation for the fair handling of civil lawsuits, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce proclaimed...It's a distinction that should come as no surprise--and a distinction Illinois should not want"

Chicago Tribune editorial, March 11, 2004

 

"We have a litigation explosion in Illinois that is hurting consumers and employers alike. Costs are rising, jobs are being lost, and doctors are fleeing the state -- all because of frivolous lawsuits that are lining the pockets of predatory trial lawyers. Illinois needs legal reform now."

Doug Whitley
President and CEO
Illinois Chamber of Commerce

 

"Lawyers are filing baseless suits against hospitals and doctors, that's just a plain fact. They are doing it for a simple reason -- they know the medical liability system is tilted in their favor.

"What I'm here to do is say as clearly as I can -- the United States Congress needs to pass real medical liability reform this year."

President George W. Bush
January 2, 2005
Madison County, Illinois

 

"We hope these advertisements shed light on the continuing prevalence of lawsuit abuse in Illinois. Without comprehensive legal reform, Illinois businesses will continue to suffer and Illinois families will continue to pay the price for their state's troubled legal system. I urge the Governor to work with the legislature to pass the reforms introduced last week."

Lisa Rickard
President, Institute for Legal Reform

 

"Our state must continue to tighten up rules on where lawsuits can be filed, rules on class actions lawsuits, and we must have reasonable limits on liability and damages. Illinois' legal crisis won't be over until more thorough reforms become law in Illinois."

Doug Whitley
President, Illinois Chamber of Commerce

 

From a Recent Survey in Illinois:

"Would you favor or oppose the state legislature changing the current lawsuit system to tighten the rules on where a lawsuit can be filed. So that the case can only be heard in the county where the defendant lives, a company is located or where an injury occurs?" 72% Favor; 23% Oppose

Illinois Statewide Survey
Public Opinion Strategies
August 2 - 4, 2005

 

"But as this legislation is intended to preserve and protect access to health care, there are other compelling arguments for additional civil justice reforms that will help Illinois regain its rightful place as one of America's foremost commercial, agricultural and manufacturing states."

Ed Murnane
President, Illinois Civil Justice League

 

"I feel good. But more needs to be done... venue reform, worker's comp."

State Sen. Frank Watson (R - Greenville)
llinois Senate Majority Leader
Madison-St. Clair Record

 

"...there are other compelling arguments for additional civil justice reforms that will help Illinois regain its rightful place as one of America's foremost commercial, agricultural and manufacturing states."

Ed Murnane
President, Illinois Civil Justice League

 

"About 25% of all asbestos cases nationwide in which the plaintiff suffers from mesothelioma are filed in Madison County. How is it that one small county in one state is home to one-quarter of all mesothelioma cases filed in the United States? Very few, if any, of the mesothelioma cases have any connection to either Madison County or Illinois."

Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell
Speech at Washington University Law School
April 14, 2003

 


From Across the Country

"Another threat to economic security is junk lawsuits. Frivolous lawsuits help drive up the total costs of America's tort system to more than $240 billion a year. That's a burden far greater than any other major industrialized nation, by the way. In order to remain competitive, in order to keep jobs here in America, in order to make sure that people can make a decent living, we got to do something about these junk lawsuits.

...These junk lawsuits cost people jobs and they raise your prices... Legal reform is a necessary part of keeping this economy going."

President George W. Bush
June 22, 2005


"The scales of justice are not balanced in America. We must free our entrepreneurs and small businesses from those junk and frivolous lawsuits that run up the costs of doing business and make it hard for people to find work."

President George W. Bush
March 15, 2005


"This measure is a common-sense measure. It will ensure that people have a right to sue when harmed, and at the same time the bill will put an end to suits that leave consumers with pennies and small businesses with needless legal bills. This is a carefully crafted measure that will benefit our economy and ensure some basic fairness when it comes to class-action lawsuits."

U.S. Senator Christoper Dodd (CT)
February 10, 2005
At the Senate passage of Class Action Reform Legislation


"Today's passage of the Class Action Fairness Act is a victory for the American people," said Mr. Frist, who noted that it was the first bill to come to the Senate floor during the 109th Congress. "The bill protects plaintiff's rights while reining in rampant abuse of America's courts."

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
February 10, 2005
At the Senate passage of Class Reform Legislation


"Class-action lawsuits are an important part of our legal system. All citizens should have the right to band together and settle grievances with bigger companies. But that system is broken."

In "too many instances, consumers are getting very little or nothing from their settlements, while companies are not being forced to change the way they do business."

U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper (DE)
February 10, 2005


"I am proud to sign Senate Bill 15 into law because it ensures that every person made sick by asbestos exposure has their day in court while reducing the junk lawsuits that have forced dozens of innocent employers into bankruptcy... For too long, trial lawyers looking to get rich quick have played the asbestos lawsuit lottery, filing claims for individuals who are not and in some cases never will become ill."

Texas Governor Rick Perry
May 19, 2005


"Due to the rising costs of lawsuits, many of our state's OB/GYN physicians have been forced to leave their practice. These reforms will help our medical community continue to provide and care for expectant mothers in our state. They will also ensure that frivolous litigation does not further limit the availability of quality medical care for all Georgians."

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue
February 16, 2005
Signing new Medical Malpractice Legislation


"The legislation I am signing today sets a new standard in our efforts to prevent physicians from being forced from Missouri because of soaring medical malpractice costs while at the same time ensuring businesses will be able to flourish without the threat of job-killing legal awards hanging over their heads. Missourians deserve access to health care, and businesses deserve the right to create jobs. This legislation will help do both."

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
March 29, 2005
Signing Comprehensive Legal Reform Legislation


"South Carolina has too often seen jobs and investment go elsewhere as a result of its unfriendly tort system ... (South Carolina's) state's business climate just got a lot friendlier. At the end of the day, that means jobs and investment are staying here or coming here that otherwise would have gone someplace else."

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford
March 20, 2005
Bill Signing of Comprehensive Legal Reform


"I want to thank those who have worked so hard, especially lawmakers, for the passage of meaningful tort reform. Today local community leaders, small businesses, the medical community, manufacturers, the financial services sector and others who have suffered from lawsuit abuse can focus on creating jobs instead."

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
September 1, 2004


"As Governor, I will reform Section 17200 of the Business and Professional Code... The Unfair Competition Law, allows individual lawyers to sue companies on the behalf of the public for illegal or deceptive business practices. This law is valuable as consumer protection, but lawyers have abused it to extort settlement money from businesses, who pass the cost on to consumers."

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
On the "Restoring California's Economic Competitiveness"


"As part of our collective commitment to build a stable and attractive business climate, we also need to take reasonable steps to reform West Virginia's civil justice system. In doing so, we will stop frivolous lawsuits in the State of West Virginia once and for all. We must forge a middle course between the extremes on both sides of this debate and focus on the ultimate goal of our court system: the equitable and fair treatment of all parties."

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin
February 9, 2005
State of the State Address


"America's small businesses are the driving force behind our economic achievements, and the U.S. Chamber is proud to support and represent this country's small business owners."

Thomas J. Donohue
President and CEO
U.S. Chamber of Commerce


"The legal system in some states is badly broken and needs to be fixed."

Thomas J. Donohue
President and CEO
U.S. Chamber of Commerce


"We have a litigation explosion in Illinois that is hurting consumers and employers alike. Costs are rising, jobs are being lost, and doctors are fleeing the state -- all because of frivolous lawsuits that are lining the pockets of predatory trial lawyers. Illinois needs legal reform now."

Doug Whitley
President and CEO
Illinois Chamber of Commerce


"As a small business owner, I have seen first-hand the devastating effect legal costs can have on small businesses. Money that should be used to expand and hire new employees is instead siphoned off to pay for legal costs. Small business owners are the engine that drives the U.S. economy. They create 75 percent of the new jobs in this country, but are clearly being handcuffed by a steep rise in frivolous litigation."

Maura Donahue
Vice President
Donahue/Favret Contractors Inc.
Mandeville, Louisiana


"Trial lawyers are a business. And people need to understand they're a business."

Lisa Rickard
President
U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform
(Legal Times, June 20, 2005)

 

"Voters know that unrestrained litigation has dire consequences that affect all of society. Lawyers operating with almost no accountability for worthless complaints have choked the health care system with on any given day, more than 125,000 cases in progress against physicians."

Yank D. Coble, Jr., MD
Past President of the American Medical Association