| REDRESS |
|
|
LAWMAKERS HOPE BILLS ERASE STATE'S REPUTATION Product Lawsuits Bring Big Awards By Jack Elliott Jr., the Associated Press, Reported in Las Vegas Review Journal, 11-27-02 JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi is capping punitive damages in product-liability cases and placing other restrictions on lawsuits to erase the state's reputation as the place where plaintiffs' lawyers go to hit the jackpot. The measures emerged from an 83-day special legislative session devoted to legal reform. Business groups from Mississippi and around the country had pressed for the protections. They said Mississippi's role as a magnet for negligence lawsuits and its reputation for eye-popping verdicts were costing jobs and scaring away employers. In early October, Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove signed the first piece of legislation to come out of the special session: a measure to limit jury awards against doctors, hospitals and nursing homes, which are facing rising medical malpractice premiums. Then on Monday, the Legislature passed a tort reform bill dealing with punitive damages. "All along, I've said we needed civil justice reform that was fair and balanced, and I'm pleased legislation has been put together that meets these criteria," the governor said Tuesday. Ron Aldridge, a lobbyist with the National Federation of Independent Business, said: "It's a great message for Mississippi to send to the world." Trial lawyers were unhappy. "It's bad," said David Baria, president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association. "Corporate America came to the Mississippi Legislature and said, 'Don't make us pay when we kill your people,' and the Legislature bent to the pressure." Mississippi has been the site of some multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements in cases involving the tobacco industry, asbestos, health maintenance organizations and drug companies. In 1998, a jury awarded 12 plaintiffs $48.5 million in compensatory damages in a case against several asbestos manufacturers. A year later, a jury awarded $150 million in compensatory damages to five Mississippians who said the diet drug fen-phen gave them heart and lung problems. The reasons given for the big verdicts: Unlike other Southeastern states, Mississippi had no caps on jury verdicts. Also, plaintiff's lawyers realized they could tap in to the traditional Southern populist hostility toward big businesses. Many of the big verdicts were won in cases that were filed in poor areas such as Holmes County, in the Delta. Before 1995, Mississippi's biggest punitive damage award was $8 million; since then, at least seven verdicts were won in cases that were filed in poor areas such as Holmes County, in the Delta. Before 1995, Mississippi's biggest punitive damage award was $8 million; since then at least seven verdicts have hit $100 million or more. The Mississippi State Medical Association said the legal climate has prompted many insurance companies to stop doing business in Mississippi. Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned members about doing business in Mississippi. The bill passed Monday would cap punitive damages at $20 million for the largest corporations and less on a sliding scale for smaller companies. WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN FAIRNESS | ||
|
||
|
| ||
|
| ||
