I am a strong supporter of tort reform, however, I oppose any and all attempts at federal tort reform legislation. We may be tort hell, but thats what our legislature wants. The way to fix it is to elect a better legislature, not to pass a national law.
I think it is dangerous that we have so many people who are willing to pass national legislation for an idea “conservative” in nature. The bedrock principle of the party is supposed to be state’s rights.
The bedrock principles of the party might be embedded in states’ rights, but there are indeed national issues.
Torts is one of those issues. As is the military. Venue shopping will continue until national reform is enacted. That’s a fact our transit system has made inevitable.
There’s also the problem of which state’s laws apply to a particular case. Lawyers, not suprisingly, like to export the most punative to apply to a particular case. Federal law would effectively limit this practice.
You say the way to fix this is by electing better legislatures, but what are you supposed to do if your company keeps getting sued in Massachusetts or California? Good luck with those legislatures, I’m telling you....
And there’s also the issue of there being federal and state courts... If you don’t reform at the federal level, guess what those state reforms are going to mean? Precious little, as if I’m a lawyer, I’m bringing my case to a federal court if given the chance (and typically, cases can be tried in both).