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December 20, 2007
‘Hellhole’ status brings mixed reaction
By Andrew Clevenger
Staff writer
Local reaction to this week’s release of a national report labeling West
Virginia the fourth biggest “judicial hellhole” in the nation was predictably
mixed.
Last year’s report from the American Tort Reform Foundation report named West
Virginia — the only statewide jurisdiction singled out — the biggest “judicial
hellhole” in the nation. This year’s report kept West Virginia near the bottom
“despite the occasional faint sign of hope.”
“It’s nothing to be proud of when you’re at the bottom of a national ranking,”
said Steve Cohen, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit
Abuse. “Perhaps our leaders in Charleston will wake up and deliver meaningful
reform.”
Cohen maintained that West Virginia is a “dumping ground” for out-of-state
plaintiffs, and that partisan election of judges has politicized the state’s
courts.
The ATRF report comes on the heels of an academic study published by two West
Virginia University political science professors that the state’s courts are not
being overwhelmed with “frivolous” lawsuits.
“When coupled with data on the relatively stable trends in caseload, frequent
use of out-of-court settlement, and lack of trials, the responses of the circuit
court judges suggest that popular conceptions of the frequency of frivolous
suits in West Virginia courts are often inaccurate,” the WVU study reads.
Cohen said the WVU study “lacks credibility” because it cites another study that
says more judges are needed, even though personal liability lawsuits are down.
Teresa Toriseva, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice
(formerly the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association), said that the WVU study
undermines the ATRF report.
“Our civil filings are 15 percent below the national average,” she said. “It’s a
farce for them to be saying that we are a ‘judicial hellhole,’ and they know
it.”
Toriseva described the ATRF report as a “propaganda campaign” designed to
produce immunity from lawsuits for big companies.
“They believe — they being billion-dollar corporate interests that basically
make up ATRF — they believe that they can convince West Virginians that we have
to change our judicial system,” she said. “Our opinions are easier to buy
because it’s a small state.”
After swaying public opinion here, they want to do the same thing on a larger
scale, she said.
“They have a national plan to limit people’s access to the court system. We have
three branches of government, and they want to own one of them,” she said.
Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, a group that
has been critical of the state’s judicial climate, said he was encouraged that
the state seems to be moving in the right direction.
But employers in West Virginia are still concerned about lawsuits, according to
Chamber surveys of its members, he said.
Roberts praised recent legislative reforms on medical malpractice, joint and
several liability and third party liability as important steps to improving the
economic outlook.
“We can work to make ourselves attractive and competitive, or we can be poor,”
he said.
One case singled out by the ATRF report was Daniel Measurement Services v. Eagle
Research Corporation, a breach of contract case in which a jury awarded Eagle a
large verdict.
“Despite the lack of any supporting evidence of damages, the case went to trial
and ended with a $10.5 million verdict against the defendant,” the ATRF report
states.
Charleston attorney Roger Decanio, who represented Eagle, a Putnam County-based
computer manufacturer, dismissed the ATRF report as a “political diatribe by
people with an agenda.”
“People need to know in West Virginia that there are forces out there that want
to take away their right to protect themselves in court,” Decanio said.
“The people who put out this report, their goal is to prevent small companies
from protecting themselves, like Eagle,” he said. “They want blanket immunity.
They want no consequences for their actions, but thank God we had a jury in this
case that listened to the evidence, that took the time to deliberate, and came
back with a verdict.”
Decanio noted that the jury’s verdict was upheld by both the state Supreme Court
and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Unlike Cohen, Decanio is upbeat about the state’s economic prospects.
“West Virginia is a great place to do business. We have talented people. We have
beautiful wildlife. And West Virginia has a potential for growth in technology
and other areas, and this report only serves to mitigate our economic stance.”
Toriseva maintained that West Virginia’s courts produced some results that are
pro-business and some that are not, evidence that the judicial process is fair
and balanced.
“The court system is an important check on the behavior of corporate America,”
she said. “Without it, corporate America would run amok.”
To contact staff writer Andrew Clevenger, use e-mail or call 348-1723.
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