tort reform

Georgia tort reform aims to change practices in judicial “hell hole”

With tort reform in Georgia in the books, the celebration cry among Georgia defense attorneys now might be “we’re number three!”

That ranking of the Peach State was jokingly referred to by attorney Blair Cash of the Moseley Marciniak Law Firm, a South Carolina-based practice that focuses much of its work on defending trucking companies. 

Cash, who is based in Georgia, made the comment in a webinar Friday to review a package of tort reforms approved by the Georgia legislature earlier this year and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/georgia-judicial-hell-hole-looks-to-change-that-with-recent-tort-reform

Texas tort reform for trucks moves forward in Legislature and courts

Texas is drawing closer to approval of one of two pieces of tort reform legislation sought by the state’s trucking industry, while the goals of the second proposal may have been achieved through a favorable court ruling. 

Both the state’s House and Senate have approved HB 19 and its Senate companion. The bills approved by each of the chambers are slightly different and will need reconciliation, according to John Esparza, the president of the Texas Trucking Association, which has spearheaded the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/texas-tort-reform-for-trucks-moves-forward-in-legislature-and-courts

Texas Trucking Association targets tort reform with broad coalition

The Texas Trucking Association is launching an initiative aimed at bringing about tort reform in the Lone Star State, with a coalition of members that now numbers about 90 behind the effort.

The Keep Texas Trucking Coalition was formed in late September, according to John Esparza, the president and CEO of the TTA. But in the past two weeks, the group has taken further steps to make itself known in preparation for the start of the five-month Texas legislative session that begins in January. 

Member...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/texas-trucking-association-targets-tort-reform-with-broad-coalition

Emotion, outside funding driving up cost of litigation

Nuclear verdicts and the emotional impact on jury awards

Nuclear verdicts may be few, but their impacts resonate across the trucking insurance space, if only because the numbers are so eye-popping. Payouts of $20 million, $30 million and even $90 million-plus have been awarded to victims of incidents involving trucks but sometimes not even the fault of the truck driver. And these awards drive up costs for everyone.

Defined as a jury award above $10 million, nuclear verdicts are not new, but they are seemingly on the rise. And large jury awards not...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/emotion-outside-funding-driving-up-cost-of-litigation

Plaintiffs’ attorneys: ATRI nuclear verdict report needs reality check

Negligent trucking companies – not nuclear verdicts – are to blame for putting trucking companies out of business, a plaintiff’s attorney group has warned.

That message from the 700-member Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) was in response to research released this week by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) in which ATRI underscored “foundational changes” are needed in a trial system that has gotten off track in assessing an increase in the number of such multi-million...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/plaintiffs-attorneys-atri-nuclear-verdict-report-needs-reality-check

Weekend Wrapup: Tort reform, guns, and safety

Every FreightWaves article is designed to help our readers become the most informed professionals in the transportation and logistics industry. These articles may have flown under your radar this week, but we consider them essential reading:

Would trucking companies allow drivers to conceal carry even if it was legal? — It depends on the size of the trucking company, according to a FreightWaves survey.  

Louisiana lawmakers take a step to limit nuclear verdicts against trucking companies — It’s...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/weekend-wrapup-tort-reform-guns-and-safety

Louisiana lawmakers approve vehicle tort reform; veto by governor possible

The Louisiana Legislature last week approved sweeping vehicle tort reform in a state known for having some of the highest insurance premiums in the country and some of the largest court damage awards.

And that’s where the consensus ends. What happens next is still very much up in the air.

Both houses of the Republican-controlled Legislature passed the tort reform bill a week ago in an ongoing special session. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has not yet signed the bill nor vetoed it.

The votes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/louisiana-lawmakers-approve-vehicle-tort-reform-veto-by-governor-possible