States Resource Center

Learn more about the status of lawsuit abuse and civil justice reform issues in each state.

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Rankings by Key Elements 2008

Explore the 2010 results online here.

Table 8

Summary of Top/Bottom 5 States by Key Elements
Overall Treatment of Tort and Contract Litigation
BEST WORST
Delaware West Virginia
Nebraska Louisiana
Iowa Mississippi
Utah Alabama
Vermont Illinois


Having and Enforcing Meaningful Venue Requirements
BEST WORST
Delaware West Virginia
Indiana Mississippi
Virginia Louisiana
South Dakota Illinois
Nebraska California


Treatment of Class Action Suits and Mass Consolidation Suits
BEST WORST
Delaware West Virginia
Utah Louisiana
Nebraska Mississippi
South Dakota Illinois
Colorado California


Punitive Damages
BEST WORST
Delaware West Virginia
Indiana Alabama
Maine Mississippi
Utah California
Kansas Hawaii


Timeliness of Summary Judgment or Dismissal
BEST WORST
Delaware Louisiana
Virginia West Virginia
Nebraska Alabama
Vermont Mississippi
Maine Illinois


Discovery
BEST WORST
Delaware Louisiana
Indiana Alabama
Utah West Virginia
Virginia Mississippi
Oregon Illinois


Scientific and Technical Evidence
BEST WORST
Massachusetts Louisiana
Delaware West Virginia
Maine Mississippi
Oregon Alabama
Virginia Hawaii


Non-economic Damages
BEST WORST
Colorado West Virginia
Nebraska Mississippi
Delaware Louisiana
Utah Alabama
Maine Illinois


Judges' Impartiality
BEST WORST
Delaware West Virginia
Iowa Louisiana
Virginia Mississippi
Nebraska California
Minnesota Hawaii


Judge's Competence
BEST WORST
Delaware Louisiana
Minnesota Mississippi
Virginia West Virginia
Nebraska Alabama
Indiana Hawaii


Juries' Predictability
BEST WORST
Nebraska Mississippi
Indiana Louisiana
Virginia West Virginia
South Dakota California
Utah Alabama


Juries' Fairness
BEST WORST
Nebraska Mississippi
Indiana Louisiana
South Dakota West Virginia
Iowa Alabama
Maine South Carolina

Lawsuit Climate Report


Lawsuit_Climate_cover_80Lawsuit Climate 2008 (PDF)

Full Harris Survey (PDF)

 

 


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