FOR years, special interest groups funded by big business have been perpetuating the myth of “litigation explosion” to justify limiting the legal rights of consumers. Under the guise of “tort reform,” the myth is used to limit recoveries for financial losses or personal injuries suffered by consumers. (Tort deals with laws on personal injuries, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product safety, property damage, and premises liability, among others.)
The proponents of these alleged tort reforms – large corporations and insurance companies – want us to believe that because of an alleged lawsuit crisis, businesses are getting hurt and the US economy is affected in the process. Using misinformation, they argue that people file lawsuits that not only clog the courts, but also put businesses in virtual paralysis.
And yet year after year, the facts prove them wrong. Recently, the National Center for State Courts’ Court Statistics Project released data that show that when it comes to civil lawsuits filed by consumers, California “is far from the lawsuit-obsessed state that the corporate lobby portrays it to be.”
The report, entitled “Examining the Work of State Courts: An Analysis of 2010 State Court Caseloads,” studied the number of civil suits filed in 29 states and the District of Columbia in 2010. Of those 30 jurisdictions, California ranks as the second least litigious state.
The report added that civil court filings in many states are dominated by corporate plaintiffs, not by individuals suing insurance companies and corporations. In 17 states, 61% of their civil cases in 2010 were contract cases, often filed by businesses against other businesses. Tort cases such as personal injury, wrongful death and medical malpractice, made up just 6% of the civil caseloads in 2010.
Between 2009 and 2010, the report said there were 162,297 “other civil complaints and petitions” (usually contract cases between business entities), compared to just 49,891 suits filed for personal injury, property damage or wrongful death, a ratio of more than three-to-one.
Court statistics have consistently destroyed the myth of “litigation explosion” being peddled by these special interest groups. Analysis from the National Center for State Courts found that:
• Tort cases declined by 24 percent between 1998 and 2007. Contract filings, meanwhile, which are more likely to involve businesses than tort cases, rose by 37 percent between since 1998 and 2007.
• The number of medical malpractice cases dropped eight percent between 1997 and 2006 and accounted for just three percent of tort caseloads in 2006.
• The number of product liability cases dropped by four percent between 1997 and 2006 and accounted for just four percent of tort caseloads in 2006.
• Automobile tort cases, which make up the majority of all tort claims, fell by 23 percent between 1997 and 2006.
Instead of a “litigation explosion” by consumers and individuals, the trend in lawsuits actually shows corporations and insurance companies as plaintiffs rather than as defendants. One cannot fail to notice the ongoing litigation between Apple and Samsung. Yet, despite the increasing number of corporations suing other businesses, there has been no coordinated move to ask government to limit the rights of corporations to sue.
Big business groups are pressing for “tort reform” so that companies can limit the damages they have to pay to consumers harmed by their conduct.
Instead of limiting the relief available to consumers, more should be done to protect and uphold their rights. Access to the courts may be the only thing that stands between an injured person and a corporation who puts profits over the public good.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant results, including several million dollar recoveries for consumers against insurance companies and big business. He is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum—a prestigious group of trial lawyers whose membership is limited to those who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy. He has been featured in the cover of Los Angeles Daily Journal’s Verdicts and Settlements for his professional accomplishments and recipient of numerous awards from community and media organizations. His litigation practice concentrates in the following areas: serious personal injuries, wrongful death, insurance claims, unfair business practices, wage and hour (overtime) litigation. You can visit his website at www.joesayas law.com or contact his office by telephone at (818) 291-0088.