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"The Last Rung"
overlawyered.com ^ | 1.5.04 | Carrie Coolidge

Posted on 01/06/2004 11:52:34 PM PST by freepatriot32

The nation's oldest ladder manufacturer, family-owned John S. Tilley Ladders Co. of Watervliet, N.Y., near Albany, has filed for bankruptcy protection and sold off most of its assets. Founded in 1855, the Tilley firm was profitable until a few years ago but could not handle the cost of liability insurance, which had risen from 6 percent of sales a decade ago to 29.4 percent by the end, even though the company wasn't sued often and had never lost an actual court judgment. Jury awards in product liability cases have jumped from "an average of $1.7 million in 1994 to $6 million in 2002". "We could see the handwriting on the wall and just want to end this whole thing," says Robert Howland, a descendant of company founder John Tilley. (Carrie Coolidge, Forbes, Jan. 12).


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: New York
KEYWORDS: company; companyladder; family; gouging; isurance; last; lawsuit; liability; newyork; noteworthy; owned; philosophytime; price; reform; rung; the; tort; tortreform
Ever since the contract with america the republicans have been claiming they are for tort reform. So where are the tort reform bills from the republican controlled house or senate?
1 posted on 01/06/2004 11:52:35 PM PST by freepatriot32
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2 posted on 01/06/2004 11:53:08 PM PST by Support Free Republic (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!)
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To: freepatriot32
Ever since the contract with america the republicans have been claiming they are for tort reform. So where are the tort reform bills from the republican controlled house or senate?

Smothered in the cradle by the rats and their masters the personal injury shysters. The Pope will sit shiva before they allow real tort reform to see the light of day.
3 posted on 01/07/2004 12:16:58 AM PST by Kozak (Anti Shahada: " There is no God named Allah, and Muhammed is his False Prophet")
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To: **New_York; *NOTEWORTHY; *Philosophy Time
ping
4 posted on 01/07/2004 12:31:30 AM PST by freepatriot32 (today it was the victory act tomorrow its victory coffee, victory cigarettes...)
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To: freepatriot32
Ever since the contract with america the republicans have been claiming they are for tort reform. So where are the tort reform bills from the republican controlled house or senate?

Our "compassionate" conservatives are more concerned with helping the poor, starving trial lawyers. Our legal system is little more than an extortion racket and as long as the usual suspects are in charge, you will never see tort reform. And the left and the "compassionate" conservatives did conspire enough with campaign finance reform to make sure that no honest person will be able to challenge the usual suspects.

5 posted on 01/07/2004 1:42:21 AM PST by Wilhelm Tell (Lurking since 1997!)
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To: Wilhelm Tell
Our "compassionate" conservatives are more concerned with helping the poor, starving trial lawyers. Our legal system is little more than an extortion racket and as long as the usual suspects are in charge, you will never see tort reform. And the left and the "compassionate" conservatives did conspire enough with campaign finance reform to make sure that no honest person will be able to challenge the usual suspects.

Excellent post!

Never, ever, ever vote for a shyster, no matter what party, is my motto.

6 posted on 01/07/2004 2:15:49 AM PST by FormerACLUmember (One man with courage makes a majority)
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