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'Tort Hellhole' Moves to Curtail Access
Mississippi plaintiffs' lawyers, battered by a 2-year fight with medical and business lobbyists, are seeking ways to undermine new laws that limit civil litigants' access and recoveries in the state that has been dubbed a 'tort hellhole.' Meanwhile, the tort reform juggernaut is rumbling into other states.
'We expect this to be, legislatively, the busiest year since '95,' said Michael Hotra, who handles legislative efforts for the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) in Washington, D.C. It was his group that put Mississippi on a list of 10 'tort hellholes.' Others included jurisdictions in California, Texas, Illinois and Missouri. Hotra expects Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina to consider packages to reduce venues, strengthen proof standards and restrict civil damages. Ohio has limited medical malpractice awards to $1 million for pain and suffering. Additional action is expected there. Similar steps are expected in Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and in West Virginia, where doctors on Jan. 13 marched on the state capital, blaming lawsuits for increases in malpractice insurance costs. Under pressure from the doctors, Gov. Bob Wise proposed damage caps. Texas is expected to study curtailing tactics to collect asbestos damages from the users of the product instead of the bankrupt manufacturers. Several legislatures will consider curbs on medical monitoring for future damages. Even the presidency has become involved: President George W. Bush, on Jan. 14 and again in his Jan. 28 State of the Union address, urged Congress to cap damages in medical malpractice suits.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.