The American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) named nine “Judicial Hellholes” in its new annual report intended to shine a light on lawsuit abuse and its effects. See https://www.judicialhellholes.org/reports/2020-2021-executive-summary
ATRF explains that lawsuit abuse harms average, hard-working Americans by clogging our court system with meritless and frivolous cases; dollars spent fighting lawsuits are dollars taken away from important societal goals.
The 2020-2021 list begins with your humble blogger’s hometown at No. 1 (we’d rather win the Super Bowl again):
1. Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
2. New York City
3. California
4. South Carolina’s Asbestos Litigation (New in 2020)
5. Louisiana
6. Georgia
7. City of St. Louis
8. Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois
9. Minnesota
The Report also notes that three state legislatures enacted significant, positive civil justice reforms in 2020, including ‘phantom damages’ reform in Iowa, “The Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020” in Louisiana, and consumer protection and punitive damage reforms in Missouri.