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AAJ Statement on Latest Propaganda from ATRA

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 (Washington, DC)—Today, the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) released their annual “judicial hellhole” report which supposedly lists the jurisdictions that, according to ATRA, have a history of producing verdicts that are so-called “plaintiff friendly.” The report is just another slick piece of propaganda in their on-going campaign against the civil justice system.

American Association for Justice CEO Jon Haber issued the following statement today regarding the release of the ATRA report:

“ATRA is nothing more tha n a front group for insurance, pharmaceutical, and tobacco corporations seeking to evade responsibility for negligence, and this report is just another piece of their baseless propaganda,” said AAJ CEO Jon Haber.

Here are the facts that you won’t find in ATRA’s “Judicial Hellhole” report:

ATRA is Funded by Big Corporate CEOs:

• Insurance, Pharmaceutical, and Tobacco Companies Have Funded ATRA. Corporate giants such as Altria (formerly Philip Morris), Dow Chemical, Exxon, General Electric, Aetna, Geico, State Farm, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Nationwide – a “who’s who” of corporations with the most to gain by shutting the courthouse doors on consumers – have all supported ATRA. Legal Times has also reported that, “most of [ATRA's] funding comes from large corporate donors. Insurance firms … are each good for $50,000 or $75,000, one unnamed lobbyist familiar with the Association told the publication.” [Gannon, “Tort Deform - Lethal Bedfellows, Essential Information,” 1995, pp. 23-25; “Proponents of Reform,” Legal Times, 4/17/95, cited in Silverstein, “Smoke & Mirrors,” Public Citizen Congress Watch, 1996, p. 11; ATRA website: http://www.atra.org/about/members.php]

• Tobacco Interests Provided Half of ATRA’s Budget in 1995. Documents uncovered as part of Minnesota’s lawsuit against the tobacco companies showed that the industry gave nearly $5.5 million to ATRA in 1995 – more than half of the ATRA’s $10.2 million budget for that year. [“Tobacco Industry Quietly Backed Tort Reform; Unsuccessful 1995 Effort Included Donations And Behind-Scenes Strategizing,” Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), 2/21/99]

ATRA’s “Judicial Hellhole” Ignored Key Economic Data:

• The Number of Jobs and Small Businesses are Increasing in West Virginia. Despite the growth of jobs and businesses in West Virginia, ATRA ranked the state as the top “judicial hellhole”for 2006.

According to the Bush Administration, the Number of Small Businesses in West Virginia is Increasing. The most recent estimates from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) suggest that the number of small businesses in West Virginia is increasing. According to SBA estimates, the number of small business in Florida increased from 118,700 in 2003 to 123,300 in 2005. [“Small Business Profile: WEST VIRGINIA,” United States Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/04wv.pdf, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06wv.pdf]

Thousands of Jobs Have Been Created in West Virginia. Since the last the “hellhole” report was released by ATRA, there have been nearly 6,000 jobs have been created in West Virginia. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=
SMS5400000000000001&data_tool=%2522EaG%2522]

• Florida has One of the Top Business Climates in America. ATRA’s 2006 “judicial hellhole” report, ranks South Florida as the nation’s number 2 “hellhole.” The business statistics in the state tell a very different story. In its 2006 ranking of state business climates, Site Selection magazine ranked Florida as the 11th most desirable state for locating a business. In addition, the most recent estimates from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) suggest that the number of small businesses in Florida is increasing. According to SBA estimates, the number of small business in Florida increased from 1,540,500 in 2003 to 1,837,800 in 2005. [“Small Business Profile: FLORIDA,” United States Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/04fl.pdf, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06fl.pdf; Site Selection magazine, 11/06, http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/nov/cover]

• The Texas Economy is Generating New Jobs and Small Businesses. The Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast regions of Texas were once again labeled as a top “judicial hellhole.” Here are the economic facts that ATRA ignored when writing their “hellhole” report:

According to the Bush Administration, the Number of Small Businesses in Texas is Increasing. The most recent estimates from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) suggest that the number of small businesses in Texas is increasing. According to SBA estimates, the number of small businesses in Texas increased from 1,712,700 in 2003 to 1,988,900 in 2005. [“Small Business Profile: TEXAS,” United States Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/04tx.pdf, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06tx.pdf]

Thousands of Jobs Have Been Created in the Rio Grande Valley and Along the Gulf Coast of Texas. Since the last the “hellhole” report was released by ATRA, there have been more than 50,000 new jobs created in the have been created in Rio Grande Valley and Along the Gulf Coast of Texas. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=
SMU4815180000000001&data_tool=%2522EaG%2522]

Texas Ranked as Having the Second Best Business Climate in America. In its 2006 ranking of state business climates, Site Selection magazine ranked Texas as the 2nd most desirable state for locating a business. [Site Selection magazine, 11/06, http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/nov/cover]

• Illinois has been a Top State for Job Growth in 2006, and has a One of the Best Business Climates in America. Three counties in Illinois – Cook, Madison, and St. Clair Counties – were once again labeled as “hellholes” in ATRA’s 2006 report, which claimed that the state “suffers from its’ unfriendly business environment.” In fact, Illinois’ business climate has been ranked as one of the best in the county, and the state has been one of the top states for job growth in 2006:

Illinois is One of the Top States for Job Growth. In July, Illinois led the nation in the job growth by creating 29,800 new jobs. This marked the second time this year that Illinois has created more new jobs than any other state, which according to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is the first time this has happened in the United States. Since the last “hellhole” report was issued, in December 2005, nearly 60,000 new jobs have been created in the state. This job growth in Illinois follows impressive gains in 2005, when more than 56,000 jobs were created in the 12 month period between December 2004 and December 2005 – the same year that ATRA ranked three counties in Illinois as “judicial hellholes.” [States News Service, 8/24/06; Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=SMS17
00000000000001&data_tool=%2522EaG%2522]

Illinois Ranked as Having One of the Best Business Climates in America. In its 2006 ranking of state business climates, Site Selection magazine ranked Illinois as the 12th most desirable state for locating a business. According to the magazine, this ranking is based “50 percent on a survey of corporate site selectors and 50 percent on states' performance in four categories associated with Site Selection's proprietary New Plant database (see the Top State Rankings chart). The categories are: the state's overall rank in total qualifying new or expanded projects in 2005; New Plant performance from 2003-2005; rank per million population; and rank per 1,000 square miles.” [Site Selection magazine, 11/06, http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/nov/cover]

According to the Bush Administration, the Number of Small Businesses in Illinois is Increasing. The most recent estimates from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) suggest that the number of small businesses in Illinois is increasing. According to SBA estimates, the number of small businesses in Illinois increased from 969,700 in 2003 to 1,087,700 in 2005. [“Small Business Profile: ILLINOIS,” United States Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/04il.pdf, http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06il.pdf]

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As the world's largest trial bar, AAJ promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, AAJ provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice system.