FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—April 25, 2007
Contact: Larry Akey/Eric Wohlschlegel
(202)580-9313
U.S. Chamber: West Virginia’s Legal Climate Worst in Nation
State Legislature’s Failure to Enact ‘Meaningful Reforms’ Cited
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform today announced that West Virginia’s legal climate is again ranked as the worst in the country, according to Lawsuit Climate 2007: Ranking the States, the annual assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris Interactive, a leading national polling firm.
“The West Virginia legislature is going out of its way to put a ‘Closed for Business’ sign on West Virginia’s front door,” said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber. “It is apparent that they are more interested in appeasing trial lawyers than in helping the state’s employers create jobs and new business investment in West Virginia.”
The survey of 1,599 senior attorneys is the preeminent standard by which companies, policymakers and the media measure the legal environment of states.
This is the second straight year in which West Virginia ranked last among the fifty states. West Virginia has languished near the bottom of the rankings since ILR began conducting the ILR/Harris Interactive survey six years ago. This year, the state ranked last on all twelve of the factors rated. For the sixth year in a row, Delaware is ranked number one.
One factor cited by the Chamber in the state’s dismal ranking is the failure of the legislature to pass meaningful legal reform. “This legislature and governor had a prime opportunity this year to fix the damage done by the state Supreme Court’s repeal of the venue statute,” said Donohue. “Instead, they passed a fatally flawed bill that does nothing but make out-of-state employers think twice about doing business in West Virginia.”
According the U.S. Chamber, the venue bill signed by Governor Manchin (HB 2956) contains loopholes that make it significantly weaker than the 2003 venue statute which was struck down by the West Virginia Supreme Court last summer, and will encourage out-of-state plaintiffs to bring lawsuits that have no connection to West Virginia.
ILR's mission is to make America's legal system simpler, fairer, and faster for everyone. It seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.