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TORT REFORM
Tort Reform
The costs of litigation per person in the United States are far higher than in any other major industrialized nation in the world. Lawsuit costs have risen substantially over the past several decades, and a significant part of the costs from lawsuits goes to paying lawyers' fees and transaction costs - not to the injured parties. Wisconsin Club for Growth supports enactment of medical liability reform, class action lawsuit reform, and asbestos litigation reform to expedite resolutions and curb the costs of lawsuits for all Americans.
Under Governor Doyle, tort reform has been dealt a death blow. His vetoes of a number of common sense legal reform measures have opened the door for frivolous lawsuits and allow Wisconsin’s manufacturers to be sued for products they never manufactured.
Wisconsin Club for Growth supports much needed legal reform, specfically comprehensive product liability reform legislation that would protect Wisconsin’s businesses from frivolous lawsuits that drive up the costs of doing business and creating jobs.
Specifically:
- Limit manufacturer’s liability under the risk contribution theory.
- This legislation would require a plaintiff to prove that the product that harmed them was in fact manufactured by a specific defendant.
- Protect manufacturers from lawsuits where damages arise from an open and obvious characteristic of a product, or result from product misuse, alteration, or modification.
- Set standards for expert testimony in state court based on sufficient facts or data and is the product of reliable principles and methods, which can be applied properly to the facts of the case. Create intent standards for the awarding of punitive damages.
Governor Doyle vetoed every one of these bills that would have put an end to lawsuit abuse in our state.
Wisconsin Club for Growth beleives Supreme Court justices should interpret laws and not legislate from the bench.
