Freddy's Back!

Republican National Committee ^ | May 25, 2004

[RWR8189]

FREDDY'S BACK!
Fred Baron Ran John Kerry In The Senate, Now He's Running DNC??
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"TRIAL LAWYERS ON BOARD: Fred Baron, longtime Democratic fundraiser, former president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, named co-chair of 'Kerry Victory '04' by DNC…" (ABCNews.com's "Noted Now," 5/24/04)

BARON SAID TRIAL LAWYERS RAN SENATE

Fred Baron Quipped About Power Of Trial Lawyers In Senate: "Lastly, there is another reason [a legislative solution to the asbestos litigation crisis] won't happen. I picked up my Wall Street Journal last night . . . and what did I learn? 'The plaintiffs' bar is all but running the Senate.' Now, I really, strongly disagree with that, particularly the words 'all but.'" (Fred Baron, Mealey's Asbestos Bankruptcy Conference, June 3, 2002)

Watch The Video: rtsp://real.stream2you.com/rnc/Press_Conference.rm

BARON UNLEASHED

Baron Vowed "Jihad" Against Tort Reform Advocates. "Fred Baron has 10,000 asbestos clients – probably more than any other lawyer in the US – and he has a simple message for those lobbying Washington's lawmakers to make it harder to bring his cases to court. 'There will be a jihad,' he says. 'We will fight them with everything we've got.'" ("Growing Chorus Demands Change In Law," Financial Times, 9/9/02)

Baron's Law Firm Is Subject Of Racketeering Suit. "Several major players in the asbestos plaintiffs bar, including Dallas' Baron & Budd, have been sued for allegedly threatening to sabotage pending settlements with a company that pressed for federal legislation aimed at capping recoveries and fees. The racketeering complaint, filed on Jan. 10 in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Perry Weitz and Robert Gordon, … along with principals at Baron & Budd and Barnwell, S.C.-based Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole – threatened G-I Holdings Inc. Chairman Samuel J. Heyman with a 'nuclear response' if he persisted in supporting the now-stalled Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act (FACA). Fred Baron, a partner in Baron & Budd and president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, denies the allegations and calls them 'garbage.' … At the heart of this claim is the so-called 'Baron & Budd Memorandum,' which allegedly instructs clients what facts to testify to in depositions … The memorandum, the complaint alleges, also 'instructs clients falsely to claim equal exposure to all products,' and directs that 'clients should deny that they ever saw warnings or had any knowledge concerning the harmful effects of asbestos.' … Baron says the memo, which first surfaced in 1997 after a Baron & Budd lawyer mistakenly turned it over to defense counsel during discovery, is 'old news.'" (Mark Hamblett, "Baron & Budd Lawyers Named In Civil RICO Suit," Texas Lawyer, 1/22/01)

Baron's Law Firm's "Witness Coaching" Memorandum Is Smoking Gun In RICO Case. "After asbestos claims forced the parent company of GAF Materials Corp., the largest U.S. roofing materials company, into bankruptcy this year, it sued three law firms. The complaint reads like a Sopranos episode, alleging that the trial lawyers threatened to crush any company pushing for asbestos tort reform under an avalanche of new claims. It also alleges that doctors reading X-rays for one law firm received sexual favors from female paralegals and secretaries. … But the real smoking gun is a memo that GAF alleges law firm Baron & Budd used to prepare witnesses. The memo details facts that all clients, regardless of their actual experience, should testify to and comments all should avoid. … Partner Fred Baron says few people were shown the document: 'A paralegal did a memo she should not have done.'" (Pamela Sherrid, "Looking For Some Million Dollar Lungs," U.S. News & World Report, 12/17/01)

Baron Calls Controversial Practice Of Capturing Clients Through Mass Screenings "Wonderful." "Since asymptomatic cases had become valuable, plaintiffs lawyers began seeking them out. By the mid-1980s they were organizing mass screenings, often with the cooperation of labor unions. A van equipped with radiographic equipment – an 'examobile,' as some were called – would roll up to a factory door, and all workers over a certain age would be invited to receive a free chest X-ray. Just before the exam, the worker would typically be asked to sign a retainer agreement, promising to be represented by a certain law firm if the X-ray came back positive for asbestos-related disease. … There was nothing illegal or unethical in itself about staging mass screenings, and plaintiffs lawyers straight-facedly claimed that they provided a benefit to society. 'I think it's a wonderful thing,' says Fred Baron … head of Dallas-based Baron & Budd …" (Roger Parloff and Ellen Florian, "The $200 Billion Miscarriage Of Justice," Fortune Magazine, 3/4/02)

TRIAL LAWYERS' LIVELIHOODS
BASED ON TORT REFORM LIMITATIONS

Trial Lawyers' Livelihoods Dependent On Legislative Issues. "What's beyond dispute is that trial lawyers are a special interest. They pump millions of dollars into Democratic coffers because their livelihoods depend on such legislative issues as caps on damages in medical malpractice cases, limits on class action lawsuits and settlement of asbestos litigation." (Editorial, "Mr. Edwards's Bundle Of Secrets," The Washington Post, 1/23/04)

KERRY IS RELIABLE VOTE FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

Kerry Is A "Longtime Opponent Of Damage Caps And Product Liability Reform." (Elizabeth Austin and Jim Day, "Rising Awards Adds Fuel To Debate On Tort Reform," Chicago Lawyer, 11/03)

Kerry Opposed Or Voted To Block Medical Liability Reform At Least Ten Times. (H.R. 956, CQ Vote #137: Motion Rejected 39-61: R 10-44; D 29-17; I 0-0, 5/2/95, Kerry Voted Yea; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #140: Motion Agreed To 65-35: R 24-30; D 41-5, 5/2/95, Kerry Voted Yea; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #141: Motion Agreed To 56-44: R 13-41; D 43-3, 5/2/95, Kerry Voted Yea; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #144: Passed 53-47: R 48-6; D 5-41, 5/2/95, Kerry Voted Nay; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #151: Motion Rejected 46-53: R 44-10; D 2-43; I 0-0, 5/4/95, Kerry Voted Nay; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #152: Motion Rejected 47-52: R 45-9; D 2-43; I 0-0, 5/4/95, Kerry Voted Nay; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #160: Motion Agreed To 54-44:: R 46-7; D 8-37, 5/10/95, Kerry Voted Nay; H.R. 956, CQ Vote #161: Passed 61-37: R 46-7; D 15-30, 5/10/95, Kerry Voted Nay; S. 1052, CQ Vote #212: Motion Agreed To 52-46: R 2-45; D 49-1; I 1-0, 6/29/01, Kerry Voted Yea; S. 812, CQ Vote #197: Motion Agreed To 57-42: R 6-42; D 50-0; I 1-0, 7/30/02, Kerry Voted Yea) 

Kerry Missed 2003 And 2004 Votes On Medical Liability. (S. 11, CQ Vote #264: Motion Rejected 49-48: R 49-2; D 0-45; I 0-1, 7/9/03, Kerry Did Not Vote; S. 2061, CQ Vote #15: Motion Rejected 48-45: R 47-3: D 1-41; I 0-1, 2/24/04, Kerry Did Not Vote; S. 2207, CQ Vote #66: Motion Rejected 49-48: R 48-3; D 1-44; I 0-1, 4/7/04, Kerry Did Not Vote)