THE TORT BAR'S COMEBACK

After 20 years of state and federal efforts to reform a runaway legal system, the trial bar is reviving the monster, says the Wall Street Journal.

At the federal level, lawyers and law firms invested in 2006 more than $85 million to get pro-lawsuit Democrats elected. Congress's new leadership has begun a political repayment plan -- packing legislation with provisions to increase the number and size of lawsuits.

The trial barons are making more progress at the state level, as described in a report by the American Tort Reform Association.

• In last year's legislative session, Michigan lawmakers proposed repealing safeguards for prescription drug providers.
• The trial bar's big coup was in Colorado, where Democratic Governor Bill Ritter signed a law increasing previous limits on noneconomic damages.

Lawyers have also been laboring to create opportunities for more lawsuits, more money and more time to sue, says the Journal:

• Last year, Alabama saw legislation that would allow a tort claim to continue even after a plaintiff had died, while California proposed authorizing lawsuits for any violation of privacy.
• New Mexico and New Jersey passed laws authorizing citizens to file "false claims" suits on behalf of the state -- in effect turning private individuals into state bounty hunters.

The tort bar sees 2008 as the real prize; it has already thrown $107 million toward increasing Democratic majorities.

READ MORE