Duane Morris Takeaway: This week’s episode of the Class Action Weekly Wire features Duane Morris partner Jerry Maatman and associate Bernadette Coyle with their discussion of the 2024-2025 edition of the American Tort Reform Association’s (“ATRA”) “Judicial Hellholes” report, which details the 10 least favorable venues for corporate defendants across the country.
Check out today’s episode and subscribe to our show from your preferred podcast platform: Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Samsung Podcasts, Podcast Index, Tune In, Listen Notes, iHeartRadio, Deezer, and YouTube.
Episode Transcript
Jerry Maatman: Thank you, loyal blog readers and listeners for joining us for our weekly podcast series. My name is Jerry Maatman, and I’m a partner at Duane Morris, and joining me today is my colleague, Bernadette Coyle. Thanks so much for being on the podcast.
Bernadette Coyle: Thanks, Jerry. I’m very happy to be here.
Jerry: Today, our podcast covers one of my most favorite topics, and that is the annual report issued by the American Tort Reform Association, which goes by the acronym of ATRA, in terms of its annual report called the “Judicial Hellholes” report. It focuses on litigation issues and does a comparative study of litigation in all 50 states, and then ranks those states with respect to fairness or unfairness of the judicial system and bias, or lack of bias, in the administration of justice. So, it’s an important read for corporate counsel, those facing class action litigation, because it identifies what are suboptimal jurisdictions, what are challenging jurisdictions. And as a result, obviously in terms of our annual study of class action litigation, settlements, and rulings, many of the jurisdictions on that watch list happen to be epicenters for class action litigation. So, Bernadette, in this year’s report there were 10 specific jurisdictions listed as the top Judicial Hellholes, and I’m sure our loyal blog readers and listeners are anxious to hear – so what jurisdiction came out as on top of that infamous list of the worst jurisdictions in which to be sued in 2024?
Bernadette: This year, #1 was a defending champion from 2023; it was the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ranked as the most challenging venue for defendants. And over the past few years, the courts there have been issuing nuclear verdicts. We’re talking about eye-popping nine figure damage awards that seem to be handed out with very little consideration for fairness. And additionally, a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has led to a flood of medical liability lawsuits by removing an important legal requirement for entry. In fact, I think they even allowed for duplicative damages in certain cases which only encourages more litigation. So, it’s definitely becoming a very plaintiff-friendly environment.
Jerry: So, kind of the watchwords are: it’s a petri dish or a hotbed for growing certain types of lawsuits. Moving on to #2, which I understand to be New York City. The report highlights it as one of the other really tough places to be sued. What’s your take on the ranking of New York City on the report?
Bernadette: Yeah, I think in New York City they noted a rise in fraudulent lawsuits, particularly with RICO lawsuits being filed against plaintiff firms and the city’s laws, including the Scaffold Law and the consumer protection act, are definitely ripe for abuse. And we’re seeing plaintiffs’ lawyers that are really cashing in on these opportunities, and it’s led to what the report is calling a “fraudemic.” It’s a growing problem in the city’s civil justice system, and unfortunately, leadership seems to be looking the other way.
Jerry: That’s certainly a very concerning trend for corporations that are sued in those jurisdictions. I know that #3 on the list is South Carolina in particular, its treatment of mass torts and the asbestos litigation. What are the problems identified there?
Bernadette: South Carolina’s asbestos judge has become infamous for being highly biased against corporate defendants. The judge often imposes unwarranted sanctions, modifies jury verdicts in favor of plaintiffs, and is becoming known for appointing a receiver to maximize insurance recoveries. All of that creates a legal environment where defendants don’t stand a fair chance, and plaintiffs are given an unfair advantage. This is really a textbook example of how judicial bias can distort the civil justice system.
Jerry: Sounds like that issue systemic to South Carolina in general, and mass tort litigation in particular. Moving on to #4, Georgia, where I litigate the defense of many class actions – what did the report have to say about the state of litigation in the Peach State?
Bernadette: Last year, Georgia was tied for #1 with Pennsylvania, and this year the report notes that Georgia is facing a rise in nuclear verdicts, huge excessive damage awards. And additionally, there’s a trend of inflated medical costs and laws that seem to set defendants up for failure. For example, Georgia still has an archaic seatbelt gag rule, meaning juries can’t even consider whether an occupant was wearing a seatbelt during a crash. It’s part of a broader trend in Georgia’s civil justice system that seems to favor plaintiffs and puts defendants at a severe disadvantage.
Jerry: Thanks. Well, next up is California, and I think that for the 42 years I’ve been a lawyer and dealing with corporate counsel, that seems to be the biggest litigation headache that they face in terms of doing business and getting sued in the state of California. What’s driving the inclusion of California this year in the Judicial Hellholes report?
Bernadette: California continues to be a major destination for plaintiffs’ lawyers looking to expand liability. The state’s legal landscape is very favorable for certain types of lawsuits. I mean, first off, California has the highest number of nuclear verdicts in the nation, and then you’ve got cases like Lemon Law claims and no injury lawsuits under the Private Attorneys General Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These are bogging down businesses and creating endless litigation that’s both costly and inefficient.
Jerry: What about Cook County, Illinois, where I was born and raised and sitting today? That deserves special mention this year – what was your take on Cook County’s inclusion?
Bernadette: Yes, Cook County is obviously very near and dear to us, and it’s also become infamous for its disproportionate share of lawsuits, especially no injury litigation and asbestos cases. One of the biggest issues here, though, is the Biometric Information Privacy Act, which has been abused to the point where lawsuits are filed over the very smallest technicalities.
Jerry: Well, those are the major geographic tours of the Hellholes. What about a brief overview of the remainder of the top 10 list?
Bernadette: Absolutely. Next is St. Louis, Missouri, which is also a hotbed for asbestos lawsuits, and for plaintiff-friendly rulings; the Michigan Supreme Court, which seems to allow reliance on junk science; followed by King County, Washington, which made it onto the list for the first time because of judges’ tendency to allow unfair group trials and junk science into court; and finally, Louisiana, with its nuclear verdicts that distort the fairness of its civil justice system.
Jerry: Well, that’s quite a tour of judicial highlights. The ATRA report, though, also has positive developments. What were some of those in terms of the legal landscape in 2024?
Bernadette: Yes, there are bright spots. For example, several states have strengthened their expert evidence rules to prevent junk science from entering court. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against lawsuits claiming insufficient product warnings when those warnings had been federally approved. And in Kentucky and Utah, we’ve seen courts make decisions that uphold fairness in the legal system.
Jerry: Well, that is good news in terms of judges being umpires and calling balls and strikes rather than being biased in favor of plaintiffs. I do believe that the report is essential, if not required reading, for our corporate counsel, and one can learn a lot looking at these reports from year to year and transposing them against litigation statistics that basically show the epicenters or hotspots of class action litigation tend to be clustered in these states that are identified by the report in terms of constituting a judicial hellhole. Well, thank you so much, Bernadette, for joining us on your very first podcast we really appreciate your contributions and thought leadership today, and thanks so very much.
Bernadette: Thank you for having me, Jerry, and thank you, listeners.