Lawsuit Abuse Impact Research & StudiesLawsuit Abuse Impact
Research & Studies
- Tort Liability Costs for Small Business
Institute for Legal Reform | July 8, 2010
Small businesses are the engine of job growth in this country. At a time when unemployment rates are high, it is important to understand the forces that impair the ability of small businesses to thrive and grow. This report contains the findings of a study that estimates the tort liability costs that fall on small businesses. It was commissioned by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) and conducted by NERA Economic Consulting (NERA). The data reveal that small businesses bear an extraordinary tort liability cost burden. - Lawsuit Climate 2010: Ranking the States
Institute for Legal Reform | March 22, 2010
The 2010 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform to explore how reasonable and balanced the states’ tort liability systems are perceived to be by U.S. business. Participants in the survey were comprised of a sample of 1,482 in-house general counsel, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives who indicated they are knowledgeable about litigation matters at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenues. "Lawsuit Climate 2010: Ranking the States" is a summary of the full survey. - 2010 U.S. Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study
Institute for Legal Reform | March 22, 2010
The 2010 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform to explore how reasonable and balanced the states’ tort liability systems are perceived to be by U.S. business. Participants in the survey were comprised of a sample of 1,482 in-house general counsel, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives who indicated they are knowledgeable about litigation matters at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenues. This is the complete study. - 2009 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends
Towers Perrin | December 16, 2009 - 101 Ways to Improve State Legal Systems
Institute for Legal Reform | October 28, 2009
This document provides a compilation of legal reforms in 23 areas for potential consideration by state legislatures. Within each area, the report briefly discusses the purpose of and need for each reform. In several areas, the report notes whether the reform is needed in particular states.This report does not provide an assessment of the general political feasibility of enacting legal reform in any individual state. Some states, such as Texas, have a reputation as being generally supportive of legal reform. Other states, such as Massachusetts, are hostile to any legislation that would be opposed by the plaintiffs’ bar. The analysis in this report does not purport to include any such state-specific political evaluation, which must occur before the effectiveness and feasibility of any reform can be fully understood.
- Selling Lawsuits, Buying Trouble: The Emerging World of Third-Party Litigation Financing in the United States
Institute for Legal Reform | October 28, 2009
This paper begins with an overview of third-party litigation financing. It next examines current third-party financing practices in the United States. It then sets forth a critique of the practice, particularly the incentives it creates to engage in frivolous and abusive litigation. In this section, the paper also presents a case study on the Commonwealth of Australia, the first jurisdiction to permit third-party litigation funding, where such funding has dramatically increased litigation and given investors pervasive — even total — control over a plaintiff’s litigation. Finally, the paper proposes that third-party litigation financing be prohibited in the United States to prevent these abuses. At the very least, the paper concludes, such funding should be banned in class actions and other forms of aggregate litigation. - 2008 Election Night Voter Poll: Voters' Resounding Call for 'Change' Did Not Include Wanting More Lawsuits
Institute for Legal Reform | November 5, 2008
The 2008 election results reveal that voters seek a change in Washington, but allowing plaintiff’s lawyers to bring more frivolous lawsuits is not the “change” they are looking for, according to this election night poll released by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). Across the political spectrum, voters agreed that frivolous lawsuits remain a problem in the United States, and that our economy will be negatively impacted if Congress expands opportunities to sue. - Reforming Corporate Criminal Liability to Promote Responsible Corporate Behavior
Institute for Legal Reform | October 29, 2008
This paper discusses the origins of our flawed system of corporate criminal liability, the growing consensus on the need for change, and the leading alternatives to our current system. This paper recommends the following:A greater recognition of the harmful and counter-productive consequences of our current system of strict vicarious corporate criminal liability; A broader understanding of the flawed origins of the current theory of corporate criminal liability; The adoption by Congress and the courts of a liability system that imposes corporate criminal liability only when the corporation has failed to carry out a reasonable compliance program; and The pursuit of court actions seeking to require a system of corporate liability that promotes the goals of the criminal law, such as deterrence, while opposing the expansion of a system that is justified by neither Supreme Court precedent nor legislative enactment.
- The U.S. Litigation Environment and Foreign Direct Investment: Supporting U.S. Competitiveness by Reducing Legal Costs and Uncertainty
U.S. Department of Commerce | October 29, 2008 - Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States
Institute for Legal Reform | April 23, 2008
The 2008 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform among a national sample of in-house general counsel or other senior corporate litigators to explore how reasonable and balanced the tort liability system is perceived to be by U.S. business. The 2008 ranking builds on previous years’ work1 where each year all 50 states are ranked by those familiar with the litigation environment in that state. "Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States" is a summary of the full survey. - 2008 U.S. Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study
Institute for Legal Reform | April 23, 2008
The 2008 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform among a national sample of in-house general counsel or other senior corporate litigators to explore how reasonable and balanced the tort liability system is perceived to be by U.S. business. The 2008 ranking builds on previous years’ work1 where each year all 50 states are ranked by those familiar with the litigation environment in that state. This is the full survey. - 2007 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends
Tillinghast Towers Perrin | December 4, 2007 - Through Their Eyes: How Foreign Investors View and React to the U.S. Legal System
Institute for Legal Reform | August 1, 2007
Putting aside the national security concerns about foreign direct investment—which in any event should be limited in impact—there should be strong consensus that more FDI in the United States is better than less. When foreign investors place their money here for the long-term it represents a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy. Such investment helps create jobs, lowers the cost of capital, and leads to more rapid diffusion of innovation and know-how, from which U.S. businesses and consumers can only benefit. It is timely and appropriate, therefore, for more attention to be given to the factors that influence incoming FDI. - Tort Liability Costs for Small Business
Institute for Legal Reform | May 17, 2007
In 2004, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform commissioned NERA Economic Consulting to quantify the cost of tort litigation to small businesses. That study has been widely cited by policy analysts and policy makers. In the interest of providing data that is current, ILR has commissioned an update on small business tort costs from NERA Economic Consulting. (Note: the 2004 study, using the most recent available data, was based on 2002 figures; this update is based on 2005 data.) The results show that small businesses continue to bear a significant share of tort costs. - Small Businesses: How the Threat of Lawsuits Impacts Their Operations
Institute for Legal Reform | May 10, 2007
This study, conducted for ILR by the nonpartisan market research firm Harris Interactive®, examined the effect of lawsuits on business decisions. Harris surveyed owners and managers of small businesses who were most concerned about the tort liability systems in their own states. Of the qualified respondents indicating that they were very or somewhat concerned about being the target of a frivolous or unfair lawsuit, six in ten say the fear of lawsuits makes them feel more constrained in making business decisions generally, and 54 percent say lawsuits or the threat of lawsuits forced them to make decisions they otherwise would not have made. - Small Businesses: How the Threat of Lawsuits Impacts Their Operations -- West Virginia Sample
Institute for Legal Reform | May 10, 2007
Sixty percent of West Virginia small business owners say they are very or somewhat concerned about the impact of frivolous lawsuits on their businesses, and many alter business decisions as a result, according to this study by the nonpartisan market research firm Harris Interactive® released by the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. - Lawsuit Climate 2007: Rating the States
Institute for Legal Reform | April 25, 2007 - 2007 U.S. Chamber of Commerce State Liability Systems Ranking Study
Institute for Legal Reform | April 25, 2007 - Judicial Hellholes 2006
American Tort Reform Association | December 13, 2006 - 2006 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends
Tillinghast-Towers Perrin | December 13, 2006
