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Repeated Attacks on the Civil Justice System Fail on Election Day

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 (Washington, DC)—With returns still coming in, candidates who support the civil justice system have won, while the vast majority of campaigns attacking the civil justice system and trial lawyers failed.

"This election destroyed a popular Karl Rove myth -- the truth is that trial attorneys are winning, attacks on trial attorneys are backfiring and opponents of the civil justice system are losing,” said Jon Haber, CEO of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA).

Voters chose trial attorneys to represent them in Washington. Of the 17 trial attorneys who ran, 13 won and two are still too close to call. It is important to note that while a significant number of Democratic pro-civil justice candidates won, no pro-civil justice Republican incumbent lost their seat.

ATLA played a significant role in electing candidates who support justice.

• ATLA PAC supported 296 candidates running for the Senate and House offices across the country, giving more than $2.5 million.
  
  
• In the final month of the election, ATLA members contributed more than $900,000 to 41 targeted House races. Nearly $500,000 of this was contributed by ATLA members online during this final push. Half of these contributions were $200 or less.
  
  
• ATLA members contributed more than $20 million to pro-civil justice Senate candidates.
  
  
• ATLA ran a number of issue ads highlighting the support of some members of Congress for a corporate agenda that puts bottom lines before the health and safety of the public. The ads ran in the states of U.S. Senators Conrad Burns (MT) and Rick Santorum (PA), as well as U.S. Representatives Don Sherwood (PA-10), Chris Chocola (IN-2), Heather Wilson (NM-1), Charles Taylor (NC-11), and Deborah Pryce (OH-15).

Civil justice issues played prominently in a number of races and in all, pro-civil justice candidates prevailed. Those races are as follows:

Iowa’s 1st Congressional District

Civil justice issues played a prominent role in the campaign for the open House seat in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. Throughout the campaign, Republican nominee Mike Whalen highlighted his support of tort “reform,” and he repeatedly attacked his opponent, Rep.-elect Bruce Braley, a trial attorney, for so-called “lawsuit abuse.” In fact, the Des Moines Register noted that Whalen’s campaign “has hit hard on Braley's representing plaintiffs in lawsuits” and used these attacks at the “centerpiece” of their advertising campaign. Three of Whalen’s television ads attacked Braley for allegedly filing so-called “frivolous” lawsuits, which the ads claimed forced jobs and businesses out of Iowa, and drove up health care costs. The National Republican Congressional Committee paid for a fourth attack ad that labeled Braley a “greedy trial lawyer.” The total cost for broadcasting all four of these ads was estimated at more than $560,000.

In addition to these attack ads, Whalen’s campaign website claimed that the “only winners under our current [civil justice] system are a handful of liberal trial lawyers who don’t care if we drive every job overseas,” and added “[i]t’s time to get serious about real tort reform and curtail the flurry of frivolous lawsuits.” He even made tort “reform” a part of his “Contract for American Jobs” proposal.

Despite his prominent use of tort “reform” issues, Whalen lost the election. Braley defeated Whalen by a margin of 12 percent.

Florida’s 22nd Congressional District

In the campaign for Florida’s 22nd Congressional district, Rep. Clay Shaw and the National Republican Congressional Committee attacked Rep.-elect Ron Klein for accepting campaign contributions from trial attorneys, and for his opposition to a tort “reform” proposal in the Florida State Senate. For instance, the NRCC aired an attack ad which claimed that Klein “…voted against lawsuit reform and sided with trial lawyers and their jackpot lawsuits…” Another ad from the NRCC noted that Klein accepted campaign contributions from trial attorneys the same month that he opposed the “lawsuit reform” proposal As the Capitol Hill newspaper reported, Shaw’s campaign also “attacked the state senator's ties to trial lawyers…” [“Battlegrounds,” The Hill, 7/11/06] When asked to comment on Klein’s campaign contributions, Gail Gitcho, Shaw's spokeswoman, noted that the contributions indicate that Klein was “…a friend to the sugar industry, lobbyists and trial lawyers.”

Shaw’s website also highlighted his support for medical malpractice “reform,” stating that “…we cannot allow frivolous lawsuits to dictate the ability of a doctor to practice medicine, especially those doctors who specialize in high risk procedures.” An ad paid for by the American Medical Association’s Political Action Committee used a similar message when it praised Shaw. While not attacking Rep.-elect Klein, the ad noted that Shaw “…took on the powerful special interests and protected patients' access to needed emergency care by reducing lawsuit abuse.”

Rep.-elect Ron Klein defeated Shaw by a margin of four percent.

Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate Seat

Since Senator Rick Santorum was the lead sponsor of a major medical malpractice bill in the Senate, it wasn’t surprising that malpractice “reform” was among the issues that he, and his allies, used in his campaign with Senator-elect Bob Casey. In September, Santorum spent more than $450,000 to broadcast an ad that attacked Casey for accepting campaign contributions from “trial lawyers and personal injury attorneys.” The ad also noted that Casey’s opposition to “financial caps on medical liability cases” will “drive away more Pennsylvania doctors and raise our health care costs.” Santorum’s ad came a few weeks after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent more than $67,000 on a television ad praising Santorum for “…working to reform the legal system, to stop lawsuit abuse and skyrocketing costs that are hurting healthcare.”

Casey defeated Santorum by a wide margin, 59 percent to 41 percent.

New York’s 24th Congressional District

While other issues were certainly at the forefront in the campaign for New York’s 24th Congressional district, the NRCC did use the issue of medical malpractice “reform” to attack Rep.-elect Michael Arcuri in two television ads. Both ads attacked Arcuri for accepting “thousands” from trial attorneys, and claimed that “jackpot lawsuits” drive up health care costs and force doctors to leave New York State. Combined, both ads cost the NRCC more than $100,000.

Arcuri defeated State Senator Raymond Meier by a margin of nine percent.

Ohio’s 18th Congressional District

In the race to replace convicted former-Rep. Bob Ney in Ohio’s 18th Congressional district, the NRCC used the medical malpractice issue in an attack ad against Rep.-elect Zack Space. The ad criticized Space for stating that increased health care costs have almost nothing to do with “frivolous litigation,” and noted that the “trial lawyers who fund his campaign” have made “plenty” off the current malpractice system. Another ad from the NRCC noted that Space was a lawyer, and stated “[n]o matter how tough things get for the rest of us, lawyers tend to do well.”

The Republican nominee in the race, State Senator Joy Padgett, also used the medical malpractice issue to attack Rep.-elect Space. Her campaign website claimed that “[w]idespread lawsuit abuse (from personal injury attorneys like Zack Space) has resulted in sky rocketing medial liability insurance premiums, costs that are passed on to patients and have driven many doctors out of practice.” In addition, Padgett used tort “reform” as a part of her health care reform plan. According to the Chillicothe Gazette, “Padgett said she plans to focus on three health care priorities, if elected: small business health plans, tort reforms and health savings accounts.” [Chillicothe Gazette (Ohio), 10/25/06]

Padgett lost to Space by a margin of 24 percent.

Note: All information and spending estimates for campaign ads were calculated and supplied by TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG: http://www.tnsmi-cmag.com

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As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA 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, ATLA provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice system.