Issues
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES LAWSUIT VENUE REFORM
Citizens to Protect PA Jobs applauds the state House Judiciary Committee for advancing legislation that would foster fairness and predictability with regard to personal injury lawsuits filed against job creators in the Commonwealth, and urges the full House to pass the bill.
House Bill 1976, which was approved by the Judiciary Committee on Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, would stop the long-standing practice of “forum shopping” – a tactic used by personal injury attorneys to file their cases in jurisdictions (namely, Philadelphia) that have little to no relation to the defendant or the action, but have a history of issuing outrageous jury awards. The bill is on the voting calendar for the week of Dec. 12.
This practice ended in 2002 in Pennsylvania for medical malpractice claims, which now have to be filed in the same jurisdiction where the incident occurs. Since then, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Philadelphia.
House Bill 1976 would expand venue reform to include all civil liability cases.
House Bill 1976 would limit venue to either the county where the plaintiff resides; the county where the action occurred; or the county where the principle place of business is located – a commonsense approach to make Pennsylvania’s legal climate more balanced and therefore, more favorable for investment and job growth. The bill wouldn’t stop individuals from having their day in court; it would just bring some rationale to where the case is heard.
Citizens to Protect PA Jobs supports commonsense venue and other lawsuit abuse reform measures because evidence shows that legal reforms enacted in other states over the two decades have lowered consumer costs, created jobs, reduced insurance costs and increased business investment and innovation.
Pennsylvania’s notoriously unbalanced, unpredictable and uncompetitive legal system hinders business investment, growth and job creation.
Venue reform and the Fair Share Act signed by Gov. Tom Corbett in June, along with additional improvements, will ensure a fair legal system for all Pennsylvanians. Citizens to Protect PA Jobs will work with state lawmakers to continue the progress on commonsense lawsuit abuse reform.
