Embargoed until 12/10/2019 Embargoed until 12/10/2019 “ThePhiladelphiacourtsareoverlycongestedandaPhiladelphiajuryshouldnotbetaxed withtryingacasewithwhichithasnorelation.” – Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge William Platt reversing a decision by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, finding the court lacked personal jurisdiction to hear the case.Hovatter v. CSX Corp. (April 27, 2018) “ThecurrentconstructionofPAGAbyCaliforniacourts[whichhavetheirown constitutionalinfirmities]givesrisetothefollowingunconstitutionalframework:valid andbindingarbitrationagreementsarerenderedunenforceable;privatecontingency-fee attorneysarepermittedtolitigateonbehalfofthestatewithoutoversightorcoordination withanystateofficial;privateattorneysareallowedtonegotiatesettlementsthatenrich themselvesattheexpenseofeveryonebutthemselves.” – California Business & Industry Alliance in its suit against the State of California alleging a lack of governmental oversight of PAGA litigation “ThetriallawyersarethesinglemostpowerfulpoliticalforceinAlbany.That’stheshort answer.It’salsothelonganswer.” – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, explaining why efforts to reform the state’s antiquated, growth hindering “scaffold law” have been thwarted. (April 23, 2014) “WelcometoSt.Louis,thenewhotspotforlitigationtourists.Thecity’scircuitcourtis knownforfasttrialsandbigawards.” – Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News “Italktobusinessownersandlobbyistswhorepresentbusinessownersandtheywouldnot comehereforanything…I’msorryIgetflusteredwhenIhearpeoplesaywearebringing inmoney.I’msorrywearelosing.” – Madison County Board member and Judiciary Chair Mike Walters talking about the “terrible drain” the infamous asbestos docket has been on the county’s economy. (January 2018) “Themajorityarrivesatthiscounter-textualconclusionbyemployinganall-too-familiar interpretivedevice:whenastatutedoesn’tsaywhattheCourtthinksitoughttosay,it declaresthestatuteambiguousandthen,undertheguiseofascertaining‘legislative intent,’resolvestheso-calledambiguitybyassigningtothestatutewhatevermeaning alignswiththeCourt’spolicypreferences.” – Justice Patrick Wyrick in his dissenting opinion in McIntosh v. Watkins, in which the Court used a inapplicable statute to triple a damage award. (February 26, 2019) JUDICIAL HELLHOLES 2019–2020 Embargoed until 12/10/2019 PREFACE Since 2002, the American Tort Reform Foundation’s (ATRF) Judicial Hellholes® program has identified and documented places where judges in civil cases systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally to the disadvantage of defendants. More recently, as the lawsuit industry has aggres- sively lobbied for legislative and regulatory expansions of liability, as well, the Judicial Hellholes report has evolved to include such law- and rule-making activity, much of which can affect the fairness of any given jurisdiction’s civil justice climate as readily as judicial actions. The content of this report builds off the American Tort Reform Association’s (ATRA) real-time monitoring of Judicial Hellhole activity year-round at JudicialHellholes.org. It reflects feedback gathered from ATRA members and other firsthand sources. And because the program has become widely known, ATRA also continually receives tips and additional information, which is then researched independently through publicly available court docu- ments, judicial branch statistics, press accounts, scholarship and studies. Though entire states are sometimes cited as Hellholes, specific counties or courts in a given state often warrant citations of their own. Importantly, jurisdictions singled out by Judicial Hellholes reporting are not the only Judicial Hellholes in the United States; they are simply among the worst. The goal of the program is to shine a light on imbalances in the courts and thereby encourage positive changes by the judges themselves and, when needed, through legislative action or popular referenda. ABOUT THE AMERICAN TORT REFORM FOUNDATION TheAmericanTortReformFoundation(ATRF)isaDistrictofColumbianonprofitcorporationfoundedin 1997.Theprimarypurposeofthefoundationistoeducatethegeneralpublicabouthowtheciviljustice systemoperates,theroleoftortlawintheciviljusticesystem,andtheimpactoftortlawonthepublicand privatesectors. Judicial Hellholes is a registered trademark of ATRA being used under license by ATRF. JUDICIAL HELLHOLES 2019–2020 i Embargoed until 12/10/2019 CONTENTS PREFACE ...........................................................................................i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................1 JUDICIAL HELLHOLES #1 Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas..............................................................5 #2 California .....................................................................................8 #3 New York City ................................................................................16 #4 Louisiana ....................................................................................22 #5 City of St. Louis, Missouri ......................................................................26 #6 Georgia ......................................................................................29 #7 Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois .....................................................32 #8 Oklahoma....................................................................................35 #9 Minnesota Supreme Court/Twin Cities............................................................39 #10 New Jersey Legislature.........................................................................44 WATCH LIST Colorado Supreme Court .........................................................................46 Florida .........................................................................................48 Maryland General Assembly .......................................................................51 Montana Supreme Court..........................................................................53 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ....................................................................54 South Carolina Asbestos Litigation..................................................................58 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.............................................................59 DISHONORABLE MENTIONS American Law Institute May Finalize Unsound Consumer Contracts Restatement ..........................61 Sixth Circuit Rules Tennessee Damages Cap Unconstitutional ...........................................61 Alaska Supreme Court Allows ‘Phantom Damages’ ....................................................62 Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Statutory Limit on Noneconomic Damages . 62 Oregon Supreme Court Issues Two Liability-Expanding Decisions .......................................62 Utah Supreme Court Strikes Down Medical Liability Law...............................................62 POINTS OF LIGHT In the Courts Missouri Court Dismisses Case for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction.........................................63 North Dakota Supreme Court Upholds $500,000 Limit on Noneconomic Damages .........................63 South Dakota Supreme Court Refuses to Expand ‘Bad Faith’ Liability for Insurers ..........................64 In the Legislatures ..............................................................................64 CLOSER LOOKS The Expansion of Public Nuisance Law and Locality Litigation ..........................................66 A Toxic Brew: New Theories of Employment Liability and the War on Arbitration ..........................69 The Coming Wave of Privacy Class Actions: A Cautionary Tale from Illinois ...............................71 THE MAKING OF A JUDICIAL HELLHOLE .............................................................74 Copyright © 2019 by American Tort Reform Foundation Embargoed until 12/10/2019 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2019 – 2020 Judicial Hellholes report shines its brightest spotlight on 10 jurisdictions, courts or legisla- tures that have earned reputations as Judicial Hellholes. Some are known for allowing innovative lawsuits to proceed or for welcoming litigation tourism, and in all of them state leadership seems eager to expand civil liability at every given opportunity. 1 PHILADELPHIA COURT OF JUDICIAL HELLHOLES COMMON PLEAS #1 PHILADELPHIA COURT OF COMMON PLEAS 2 CALIFORNIA Philadelphia is home to an astounding $8 billion product liability verdict in 2019. Mass tort cases have 3 NEW YORK CITY inundated the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas due to judges’ loose application of venue laws, a reputa- 4 LOUISIANA tion for high jury verdicts, and an overall lack of legal 5 THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI reform. Trial lawyers spend millions of dollars on television advertisements to increase the pressure on 6 GEORGIA defendants to settle cases. The city also remains one of 7 COOK, MADISON AND ST. CLAIR the preferred jurisdictions for asbestos litigation. COUNTIES, ILLINOIS #2 CALIFORNIA A perennial Judicial Hellhole, California’s fall from the No. 1 spot in 2019 cannot be 8 OKLAHOMA attributed to any improvement in the state’s liability 9 MINNESOTA SUPREME COURT/ climate, but rather results from the severity of the TWIN CITIES problems plaguing Philadelphia. California courts allow innovative lawsuits to proceed and the burden- 10 NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE some Prop-65 law is exploited by the plaintiffs’ bar. The state is a magnet for class action lawsuits, and given the courts’ and legislature’s anti-arbitration