American Tort Reform Association
Encyclopedia
The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), founded in 1986, is an organization that advocates for tort reform
. Its membership consists of more than 300 businesses, corporations, municipalities, associations, and professional firms.
The ATRA supports an agenda to increase public awareness of, and suggest changes in, the manner in which tort litigation is conducted in the United States
. Some of these proposed changes would effectively limit the ability of tort
plaintiffs to recover against defendants. Examples include:
ATRA has identified attorney misconduct
as a part of the problem with the tort system and displayed a billboard targeting a particular "unethical lawyer."
At the end of every year since 2002, ATRA publishes its annual Judicial Hellholes report, which is a list of locales that ATRA calls the worst courts in the United States. The 2005 report lists Rio Grande Valley and the Gulf Coast of Texas
as the worst courts in the country. Prior to 2005, the worst court according to ATRA was Madison County, Illinois
. The other judicial hellholes in 2005 were Cook County, Ill., the entire state of West Virginia
, former top seed Madison County, St. Clair County, Ill., and south Florida.
ATRA also awards the Civil Justice Achievement Award annually. Winners include Charlie Ross
, Walter Olson
, Paul Coverdell
, Bill Pryor, and John H. Sullivan.
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
. Its membership consists of more than 300 businesses, corporations, municipalities, associations, and professional firms.
The ATRA supports an agenda to increase public awareness of, and suggest changes in, the manner in which tort litigation is conducted in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Some of these proposed changes would effectively limit the ability of tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
plaintiffs to recover against defendants. Examples include:
- Technological Presentation Method to Courtroom
- Limitations on liabilityLegal liabilityLegal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
for medical malpracticeMedical malpracticeMedical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
. - Abolition of the rule of joint and several liabilityJoint and several liabilityWhere two or more persons are liable in respect of the same liability, in most common law legal systems they may either be:* jointly liable, or* severally liable, or* jointly and severally liable.-Joint liability:...
. - Abolition of the collateral source doctrine.
- Limitations on punitive damagesPunitive damagesPunitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit...
. - Limitations on noneconomic damagesDamagesIn law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
. - Changes in products liability law.
- Greater skepticism in the admission of expert testimony.
- Stopping so-called "regulation through litigationRegulation through litigationRegulation through litigation refers to changes in society brought about by litigation, rather than legislation or regulation....
." - Promotion of juryJuryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
service.
ATRA has identified attorney misconduct
Attorney misconduct
Attorney misconduct encompasses a variety of issues related to unethical or illegalconduct by an attorney. Attorney Misconduct may include: conflict of interest, over billing, refusing to represent a client for political or professional motives, false or misleading statements, hiding evidence,...
as a part of the problem with the tort system and displayed a billboard targeting a particular "unethical lawyer."
At the end of every year since 2002, ATRA publishes its annual Judicial Hellholes report, which is a list of locales that ATRA calls the worst courts in the United States. The 2005 report lists Rio Grande Valley and the Gulf Coast of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
as the worst courts in the country. Prior to 2005, the worst court according to ATRA was Madison County, Illinois
Madison County, Illinois
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. Madison County is part of the Metro-East region of the St. Louis Metro Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 269,282, which is an increase of 4.0% from 258,941 in 2000. The county seat is Edwardsville, home to...
. The other judicial hellholes in 2005 were Cook County, Ill., the entire state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, former top seed Madison County, St. Clair County, Ill., and south Florida.
ATRA also awards the Civil Justice Achievement Award annually. Winners include Charlie Ross
Charlie Ross
Charlie Ross is an American politician and attorney who lives in Brandon, Mississippi. He served as Senator from District 20 in the Mississippi Senate until 2007. District 20 comprises parts of Madison and Rankin Counties. Charlie was first elected to the Senate in 1997 after serving as the...
, Walter Olson
Walter Olson
Walter K. Olson is an author and blogger who writes mostly about tort reform. Olson is a senior fellow of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington DC. Formerly Olson was associated with the Manhattan Institute in New York City...
, Paul Coverdell
Paul Coverdell
Paul Douglas Coverdell was a United States Senator from Georgia, elected for the first time in 1992 and re-elected in 1998, and director of the Peace Corps from 1989 until 1991...
, Bill Pryor, and John H. Sullivan.