Tort reform in Missouri is at the forefront of action in the Capitol. Missouri is falling behind economically as other states move forward with tort reform. Missouri will continue to struggle with job creation, health care costs and tax revenue collections until we reign in the abuses of our civil justice system.
ATRA, the American Tort Reform Association, annually identifies “judicial hellholes” across the nation. The designation judicial hellhole is a recognition granted for civil justice abuses benefiting plaintiff’s attorneys. Missouri retained its status as a state with a judicial hellhole for the second year in a row in 2003. The city of St. Louis was first identified as a judicial hellhole in 2002. In 2003, St. Louis ranked No. 11 on the list and was identified as one of eight repeat offenders.
There can be little doubt that plaintiff attorneys recognize the city of St. Louis as being generous in tort cases. An analysis of the circuit court in St. Louis, conducted by ATRA, found that circuit court rendered eight of the 21 highest plaintiffs’ verdicts, accounting for 38 percent of those highest verdicts in 2002. Citing an article in Missouri Lawyers Weekly titled “Largest Settlements of 2002 for Missouri,” St. Louis also accounted for 50 percent of the highest settlements.
These figures are significantly disproportionate when you consider Missouri has 44 other judicial circuits, and the statistics obviously have not been ignored by the plaintiffs’ bar. The number of personal injury and medical malpractice cases filed in the city of St. Louis increased by 13.7 percent between 2000 and 2002. The largest increase came in 2002, when 9.1 percent more cases were filed when compared to the previous year.
One of those proposed reforms would limit the ability of plaintiff attorneys to shop for a friendly jury, such as in the city of St. Louis. Cases have been filed in the city even though the alleged cause of action occurred in another area of Missouri. Often plaintiff attorneys are able to obtain venue in a friendly court by alleging the weakest of connections with the preferred court, such as having an employee of the company residing in the city, or the company may have a satellite office in the city.
Will the reforms being proposed in House Bill 393 really have an impact on Missouri’s judicial system? Consider the state of Mississippi. Mississippi joins Missouri as a state with a regional court system recognized as a judicial hellhole. In Mississippi, that judicial hellhole is the Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Effective Jan. 1, 2003, Mississippi laws were changed to cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. In 2004, the Mississippi legislature returned and enacted further reforms, including venue restrictions, product liability limitations, punitive damage caps and elimination of joint and several liability. An initial review of these reforms indicates civil cases filed in Jefferson County, Mississippi Circuit Court may have dropped by as much as 66 percent. Mass tort (class action) claims in Mississippi also have experienced a similar decline.
The reductions are so dramatic, and their timing in relation to civil justice reforms make it difficult to reach any conclusion, other than tort reform works. Mississippi recognized the need for tort reform and responded while Missouri continues its fight for reforms. Missouri must learn from the experiences of other states, like Mississippi, if we are to remain competitive in the national and global markets.
In reviewing the “Tort Reform Record”– another document prepared by ATRA – joint and several liability reforms enacted since 1986 across the nation were compared with Missouri. That data indicates that 32 states have enacted reforms of joint and several liability, which are more favorable than in Missouri. This includes six of the eight surrounding states.
Missouri employers and health care providers are at a significant disadvantage when exposed to unreasonable liabilities, that competitors in surrounding states do not face. Missouri has another chance, in the 2005 session of the General Assembly, to correct systemic problems with our tort laws. We must make real changes to our tort laws, including damage caps, venue restrictions and elimination of joint and several liability laws, if we are to keep pace.
Jim Kistler is executive vice president of Associated Industries of Missouri.
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