Center for Constitutional Litigation Challenges Arkansas "Tort Reform"

An Arkansas omnibus "tort reform" statute passed last year flies in the face of a constitutional provision enacted in 1874 to rein in a legislature beholden to Robber Barons, according to an action filed yesterday in the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The action was a collaborative effort between lawyers for the Center for Constitutional Litigation and lawyers in Arkansas.

The constitutional provision in question, Article V, Section 32 of the Arkansas Constitution, precludes the passage of any law "limiting the amount to be recovered for injuries resulting in death or for injuries to persons or property."

"The purpose of this statute was to insulate wrongdoers from responsibility for the harm they cause, at the expense of the average Joe or Jane," said plaintiffs' counsel John Vail, of the Center for Constitutional Litigation in Washington, DC.

"The legislature did just what the legislature did in the era of Jay Gould: made sure that someone else paid the corporate bosses' bill."

In addition to Vail, plaintiffs are represented by CCL attorney Julie Schroeder and by Little Rock lawyers Morgan "Chip" Welch and David Williams.

The suit was filed by the Arkansas Association for Nursing Home Reform, the Arkansas AFL-CIO, the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and individuals who have suffered egregious injuries, including a woman left immobilized but conscious of pain during her hysterectomy.

The plaintiffs allege numerous other constitutional violations, including a claim that the statute, Act 649 of 2003, violates the right to jury trial and the requirement of separation of powers because it takes decisions away from jurors.

"The right to serve on a jury is the precise equivalent of the right to vote," Vail continued, "and this statute impermissibly diminishes that right. It is an attempt by the legislature to make decisions that the People wanted juries to make."

The suit was filed as an original action in the Arkansas Supreme Court, bypassing lower courts, with the lower courts themselves as defendants. The suit asks the Supreme Court to declare the statute, Act 649 of 2003 unconstitutional and to order the lower courts not to enforce it.

No timetable has been set by the Court for action on the suit. The Attorney General of Arkansas is expected to provide a vigorous defense.

The Center for Constitutional Litigation, PC, is a law firm established in 2002 to promote the rights of access to courts and jury trial and to fight so-called "tort reform."