A lot of digital ink has been spilled this week detailing how the #AuntFromHell sued her nephew because she broke her wrist when he jumped into her arms at his 8th birthday party. Now there’s nothing wrong with putting out some good click-bait every now and then, but when reporters have the opportunity to tell the full story but choose not to, there is something fishy going on.
New Jersey has a lot of things going for it. If you check out Choose New Jersey’s promotional materials touting our strengths you will see that we are “highly educated, perfectly located.” Unfortunately, those are not the only characteristics a state needs in order to see its economy thrive.
It has been almost a year since we first brought the plight of Just Mayo to your attention. The popular start-up company that makes egg-less food products has been entangled in multiple legal battles over the past year all because there is federal definition of mayonnaise. Yes, you read that right, there is a federal definition of mayonnaise, and it’s spurring litigation.
A new report from the American Tort Reform Association and the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, “The Trial Lawyer Underground: Covertly Lobbying the Executive Branch,” documents how plaintiffs’ lawyers have been able to successfully lobby the executive branch to expand civil liability (and increase their bottom lines) over the past few years.
One of the things that struck a chord with attendees of our recent legal reform conference was our discussion of class actions that are filed in the wake of government enforcement actions. Under these circumstances, companies end up taking a double hit - first from government regulators, and then from plaintiffs’ attorneys acting under the cloak of consumer protection. Hastily filed consumer class actions can compromise the government’s ability to effectively regulate, and often provide only marginal additional benefits to consumers, yet they are increasingly common. In just the past few days, news broke that two such cases have been filed in New Jersey shortly after high-profile government enforcement actions were announced.
New Jersey is not the only state that is seeing an increase in the number of cases filed by plaintiffs who have suffered no real harm - be it physical, emotional, or economic. This so-called “empty suit” litigation is a national phenomenon.
“It's like déjà vu all over again.” This famous Yogism is the first thing that came to mind when we saw the latest news story about a hot coffee lawsuit. Ever since the famous case where a jury awarded a coffee burn victim $2.86 million these cases just keep popping up.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of September 5-11.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform has released its latest survey of state legal climates. Unfortunately, New Jersey’s ranking fell to 38 this year, down from 32 in 2012 when the survey was last released. This is cause for anxiety in a state that is struggling to grow its economy since the survey also found that “75 percent of attorneys at U.S. companies say a state's lawsuit environment is likely to impact important business decisions at their company, including where to locate or expand.” That is an 18 percent increase from eight years ago, and an all-time high.
This morning, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform released its latest survey of state legal climates. New Jersey’s ranking fell to 38 this year, down from 32 in 2012 when the survey was last updated.
