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Treasury Secretary Calls For End of Lawsuit
Abuse in America.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary had a few things to say
about the runaway lawsuits that have become all too frequent in America.
John Snow said said in prepared remarks to a closed session of the
American Tort Reform Association that frivolous litigation is costing
American jobs and urged an overhaul of rules that permit personal injury
lawyers to launch huge legal cases.
"Lawsuit abuse is the ultimate disincentive for hiring new people," said
Snow . He continued, "The cost of doing business is substantially
increased by a litigious environment."
Lawsuit abuse is a topic the treasury secretary frequently raises as an
area of economic concern during trips around the country, calling for
Congress to take steps to rein in personal injury lawyers, comparing the
current legal climate in America to recent abuses by some corporate
leaders.
"The lack of personal ethics and responsibility, the excesses of greed, is
similar to what we saw when corporate scandals erupted two years ago,"
Snow said.
Snow said the Bush administration was urging Congress to pass a class
action reform bill to end the "grotesque" practice of personal injury
lawyers "shopping" for state jurisdictions that are likely to make large
awards.
"We're sick and tired of seeing that type of personal injury lawyer bring
class-action lawsuits in these judicial hellholes," Snow said. The Class
Action Fairness Act before Congress would let defendants move such suits
from state to federal courts when a substantial number of plaintiffs were
not residents of the state where the suit was filed.
Snow said small businesses were especially hard hit by fear of "frivolous,
unnecessary lawsuits" and put a damper on one of the wellsprings of new
jobs.
"Small businesses are the engines of job creation and the engines cannot
work effectively when they are slowed by the headwinds of frivolous
litigation," he said.
Source: FindLaw.com, "Snow Says 'Lawsuit Abuse'
Costs Jobs,"
March 16, 2004.
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