Editorial: In Last Place, Growing W.Va.

An end to lawsuit lottery would help the private sector too

Charleston Daily Mail, April 6, 2005

State government has a whole division devoted to economic development. The state has given away hundreds of millions of dollars to lure businesses to the state, the most recent being $35 million used to get Cabela's to open a store in the Northern Panhandle.

Still, economic growth trails the rest of the nation. Instead of picking and choosing businesses to prop up, the Legislature should respond to the needs of them all. What they need is tort reform. When they walk into the courts, businesses want the same treatment they get in 49 other states.

The state Business and Industry Council on Tuesday ran a full-page ad signed by 38 other organizations. The list included the medical association, forestry association, racing association, manufacturers association, coal association and Realtors. They agree on the changes that are needed:

• Joint and several liability. In Ohio , Pennsylvania and Virginia , a person has to be found at least 50 percent liable before being held responsible for all the damages in a lawsuit. West Virginia proposes to "reform" its law so defendants found 25 percent liable can be forced to pay 100 percent of damages.

• The collateral source rule. It would allow juries to offset economic damages by considering other compensation received as the result of an injury. This would prevent double compensation.

• Non-economic damages. This would limit what a plaintiff could receive beyond actual damages.

• Right to cure. Before suing a merchant, a customer would have to give a merchant time to make good on a complaint. If that does not work out, the customer can sue. But if the customer loses the lawsuit, the customer would pay the merchant's legal bills. This would nip many frivolous lawsuits in the bud.

• Asbestos-silica reform. It's within the state's power to speed up recovery for people with actual illness from asbestos or silica, breaking through the logjam of such lawsuits in the state courts.

Over the years, lawmakers have tried all sorts of gimmicks to attract business, from TEDDI loans to the quarter-billion-dollar economic grants program under former Gov Bob Wise.

Legislators should put the gimmicks away this session and give businesses simple fairness.