A Guide for Plaintiffs’ Attorneys… or Defendants’ List of Places To Avoid
Forbes caters to the business elite, so the latter title for this post is probably the most appropriate one. But ATL readers could wind up on either side of one of these suits, so read with whichever lens you prefer.
The article talks about some of the worst courts for certain types of defendants to land in. Los Angeles is knocked because “California allows disabled persons to recover monetary damages for ADA violations.” Here are some of the other named districts:
“There is a high degree of stability in what most people think are the most problematic places to get sued,” said Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of The Rule of Lawyers. “If you put pins on a map for the top 50 most outrageous verdicts, bizarre run-away juries and so forth, you would find this belt around the Gulf Coast that runs from southern Texas across Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. These are also some of the places people consider the worst places to get sued.”
Hmmm. These are also some of the states from which we get our most interesting stories. Florida seems to have the weirdest news stories by far, such as the recent Cheerleader group beating. What’s in the water down there?
Forbes.com asked the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), which surveys hundreds of defense attorneys and corporate executives every year for its report on litigation abuse on “Judicial Hellholes,” to list the places identified by the largest number of survey respondents as the worst possible places to be a defendant in particular types of lawsuits. The list they produced has a surprise or two for nearly everyone.Hit with a personal-injury lawsuit? Better hope it’s not in Starr County, Texas. Class actions? Hopefully you won’t find out why John Grisham sets so many legal thrillers in Mississippi. Construction suits? Building’s not the only thing booming in Clark County, Nev. And journalists hoping to avoid libel suits may wish to avoid courts in Philadelphia, according to ATRA’s report for Forbes.
Consider yourself advised or warned. Depending on your lens.
Also, ATL will no longer report news out of Pennsylvania.
The Worst Places To Get Sued In America [Forbes via Overlawyered]
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Comments
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Funny, those are just about the worst places to be for any other reason, too.
If you find yourself in most of those places, a lawsuit should be the least of your worries. Especially Philly....ewww.
If you find yourself in most of those places, a lawsuit should be the least of your worries. Especially Philly....ewww.
Does anyone else think it a bit absurd that this blogger has never been to law school?
With respect to those teenagers who beat up that girl so they could post the video on the internet, I hope they get sent away for a long long time to a place where they will be severely beaten every single day. If I was the father of the victim, I would ask that I be given a few minutes with each of them. If they actually survived the beating I would give them, I'd make sure they'd remember it for the rest of their sorry, pathetic, stupid lives.
That girl fight link is one of the gnarliest things I have seen in a long time. Thank goodness I didn't marry a girl from Florida. I am amazed a how calmly they just beat up on the one girl, a punch here, a punch there. Just like it was a break in their conversation.
I don't understand what these "tort reformers" plan to do when they're the victim of a tort.
Actually I do, the hypocrites would sue the pants off the tortfeasor.
I'll offer even money that 10:33 is a disgruntled, non-attractive female associate
I don't understand what these "tort reformers" plan to do when THEY are the victim of a tort. Are they just going to take it?
Something tells me they'll take off the "tort reformer" hat and put on the "I want justice hat," and sue the pants off the tortfeasor.
"Does anyone else think it a bit absurd that this blogger has never been to law school?"
Uh, no. She seems to be a reasonably intelligent, attractive, healthy/happy looking creature who lives a fairly free existance.
Ruining that by going to law school is what would be absurd.
"Does anyone else think it a bit absurd that this blogger has never been to law school?"
Uh, no. She seems to be a reasonably intelligent, attractive, healthy/happy looking creature who lives a fairly free existance.
Ruining that by going to law school is what would be absurd.
I wonder if the kids' lawyer will use the "she was asking for it" defense? Seems legit to me...
No Philly coverage? How are we going to get the latest gossip at Penn St. Law School?
Also, the new format sucks.
Glad to see the BLUE BOX(es)!!!
10:33 - I don't think it takes a law degree to figure out which portions of an article like this to block quote.
i'm trying to give the new format the benefit of the doubt, but the invasive pop-out ads like Verizon at the top that place themselves over the text of the article are too much to handle. booooo!
Oh come on tort lawyers - tort reform is not about ending tort claims, it is about reining in frivolous suits and outrageous judgments.
Funny, I never hear about all of the injustice to injured parties unable to sue or recover in loser pays jurisdictions. That's probably because plaintiffs who win their cases get their fees on top of their judgment.
co-sign 10:45
Is it the lack of interesting posts or the terrible new format that is keeping everyone away from this site?
Lat
This format is so terrible I think I might actually start paying attention in con law.
"Does anyone else think it a bit absurd that this blogger has never been to law school?"
Uh, no. She seems to be a reasonably intelligent, attractive, healthy/happy looking creature who lives a fairly free existance.
Ruining that by going to law school is what would be absurd.
"Does anyone else think it a bit absurd that this blogger has never been to law school?"
Uh, no. She seems to be a reasonably intelligent, attractive, healthy/happy looking creature who lives a fairly free existance.
Ruining that by going to law school is what would be absurd.
where is david lat? where is abovethelaw? i feel so unsure on this site.
Hey, nice work on the blue boxes there! Now I know what's a quote and what's not by the background color. Thank the gods. I also approve of the silhouette; it could be of a monotheist or a polytheist.
You want a place not to be a plaintiff: India! The docket is between 5 and 15 years, though I hear one case between Vishnu and Ganesh took over 750 years to decide.
Hey, nice work on the blue boxes there! Now I know what's a quote and what's not by the background color. Thank the gods. I also approve of the silhouette; it could be of a monotheist or a polytheist.
You want a place not to be a plaintiff: India! The docket is between 5 and 15 years, though I hear one case between Vishnu and Ganesh took over 750 years to decide.
why do the comments take so long to post? and am i only allowed to post as "guest" without registering? WHAT'S GOING ON??
seriously this is ridiculously slow. it's been 10 minutes.
do you need a law degree to be able to write about the law?
yeah, and those girls were absolutely ridiculous. how can the be so cruel to someone? it's unbelievable... how would it work suing them since they're all under 18? would their parents be liable for any reward?
This layout and font is terrible. I can't even read the damn thing. It gives me a headache.
All of these girls are destined for lucrative careers in the adult entertainment industry:
The suspects were identified as 17-year-old Mercades Nichols, 17-year-old Brittini Hardcastle, 14-year-old April Cooper, 16-year-old Cara Murphy, 17-year-old Britney Mayes and 15-year-old Kayla Hassell.
I don't do criminal defense, but would the ever popular "she was asking for it" work in a girl on girl beating case?
Can someone tell me how the cheerleader story is at all relevant to this post?
10:39 -- easy there fella.
decreased readability & increased dudes with black suits and black ties = decreased commenting = decreased revenue = no more ATL
the solution: put up the old ATL!!!
How can we forget everyone's favorite -- Bethel, Alaska?
These pictures are creeping me out. Please make them go away. I'm having terrible flashbacks of 'The Wall.'
It's 12:08 according to my clock. No comments have been posted since 10:47. Either people don't care much for tort reform or something's more wrong with ATL than usual.
Who cares if Kash attended law school or not? This is a quasi-journalism gig, 10:33. I don't need my blog handled by all lawyers, particularly that we've got the big dog in charge at ATL.
10:45
Not even close. I'm a guy and a law student. But seriously, am I alone in believing that only lawyers have the credibility to post on a blog like this one? Journalists can write about the law, but blogs are generally done by experts in the field. One reason Lat is so appealing as a blogger is that he's done it all (Yale, Wachtell, etc.), which gives him immense credibility as a former lawyer and current insider. No offense to Kashmir, but I think that the blog's overall credibility is undermined by having non-lawyers blog.
David, can we some stats on the precipitous drop in comments (and, presumably, page loads) that ATL has experienced since the day you changed the format?
Signed by: k tks bye
I, too, was chilled by the beating story - I couldn't watch the video because it just seemed like too much of an invasion.
I actually feel bad for teenagers of this generation. I truly believe that they are more fucked-up than earlier generations. I know everybody says that about earlier generations, but in this case I think it's true.
I'd be devastated if my child was a victim or a perpetrator.
does anyone else think ATL's new format sucks? It looks just awful on my screen, but maybe it is just me.
Bring Chad to Philly!
Nest,
C2P
When they switched the format, did they get rid of the content too? Where is everyone?
?
Either the comments feature is broken or someone is censoring the comments. Criticize Kash = get blocked.
lazy Wednesday or tech pw3nd?
David -- I hate to say it, but content has been lacking the past couple of weeks. And the new format sucks. Bring back the ATL we know and love!
Not only is the new site slow, but it is also ugly.
Also, we get no content from 10 a.m. till now, 2 p.m. ATL is going downhill fast...
What is worst of all, still no posts about white guys with asian girls...
Kash, are you asian?
- King of WGWAG
Hey Lat, what the hell hapened to the comment I posted 2 hours ago? WTF!?! This sucks...
I can haz more crazazy legal storeez? Plzz?
Painfully slow news day.
ATL sucks now. I'm thru
What a fucking joke. South Texas? Mississippi?
These guys need to try a case in West Virginia, the original judicial hellhole. Our entire Supreme Court is on the take. Grisham just wrote a book about it.