Restore Balance Solution

Limit Costly Frivolous Lawsuits

West Virginia has been called one of the "Tort Hell" states in this country because of its litigious environment and the high costs associated with these lawsuits. Companies fear locating jobs or having operations in a state where they may face the expenses, hassle and potential liability from frivolous claims and pro-lawsuit judges. 

Because of our pro-litigation system, West Virginia has the highest tort costs in the nation as a percentage of gross state product.  This means a higher percentage of all of the goods and services produced in West Virginia contribute to the costs of uncontrolled civil litigation than in any other state. This system also is putting unwarranted pressure on employers to settle cases rather than risk greater costs from uncontrolled verdicts.

Plaintiff lawyers know West Virginia’s reputation for big jury verdicts and the pressure those verdicts impose on employers to settle cases.  The number of advertising plaintiff lawyers in local phone books confirms this situation.  Unfortunately, businesses also know that our uncontrolled civil litigation system means they face added risks and higher costs of doing business in West Virginia than in other states that have adopted common sense tort reforms.  So while plaintiff attorneys find West Virginia an increasingly attractive place to do their business, the number of other employers doing business in our state is decreasing.

As a result, uncontrolled lawsuits are having a negative effect on every West Virginian.  Everyday products cost more because producers have to pay more to cover the cost of litigation or insurance to protect them from increasingly costly jury verdicts.  We lose jobs when businesses decide to locate operations in other states that have enacted tort reforms to restrict the financial hit that companies take every time someone files a lawsuit.  Further, lawsuits filed to take advantage of West Virginia’s reputation for being a lawsuit friendly state crowd court dockets and slow the system for injured people and businesses with legitimate grievances.  

Resources:

Provided is additional information that highlights these problems and the negative consequences on our state's ability to grow jobs.

• West Virginia courts again ranked as "tort hells" in U.S.
  American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) - ATRA Judicial Hellholes --  2006 Judicial Hellholes Report
• A study by the Council of Economic Advisors estimates the direct costs of the tort system to be $180 billion per year.
  Council of Economic Advisors
  Who Pays for Tort Liability Claims?: An Economic Analysis of the U.S. Tort Liability System, April 2002

• The Negative Impact on the Current Civil Justice System on Economic Activity in West Virginia
  A report for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, 2002

• "What Are The Costs of Civil Litigation in West Virginia"
  Winter 2002

• Out of total U.S. tort costs of over $200 billion—more than 2% of GDP—trial lawyers gross $40 billion per year in revenues, or 50% more than Microsoft or Intel and twice those of Coca-Cola.
  The Manhattan Institute
  Trial Lawyers, Inc., September 2003

• "Terrible Ten" State Attorneys General Profiled in New Study
  Competitive Enterprise Institute, January 24, 2007