If you’re a faithful reader of our blog, we don’t have to tell you twice: abusive lawsuits hurt our economy. And West Virginians should know that fact as well as anyone else, from first-hand experience. West Virginia’s legal climate is clearly out-of-step with the rest of the country, with the state consistently earning a spot as a top Judicial Hellhole.

West Virginia’s economy reflects its poor legal climate. Report after report ranks the state as one of the worst places to do business, and West Virginians have long felt the financial impact. 

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, providing two-thirds of all new jobs. But lawsuit abuse threatens small businesses, hurting their ability to grow and create jobs that we all need. 

That’s why a thriving economy and legal reform go hand in hand – as such, we’re hardly surprised that the Florida Chamber of Commerce identified legal reform as the number one priority for 2014, saying that lawsuit abuse is one of the chief obstacles in preventing small businesses from succeeding. 

Recently, we told you about Sick of Lawsuits’ Small Business Summer, which we launched to draw attention to the negative impact of lawsuit abuse on small businesses and ensure that the voices of small business owners are heard. As part of these efforts, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse groups around the country have been holding all sorts of rallies, roundtable discussions and forums to spread the word. 

Check out some of the highlights below!

As we’ve told you before, West Virginia is the only state in the nation without an automatic right of appeal. This fact means that defendants often don’t receive fair chances to tell their stories in court. It also drives away businesses and jobs. 

In 2010, West Virginia lawmakers attempted to halfheartedly address this issue by requiring the West Virginia Supreme Court to provide written explanations when it rejects an appeal.

At Project Lawsuit Abuse, we frequently talk about the benefits that tort reform has brought to Texas, but today we have another example of proof.

To mark almost ten years after Texas passed its expansive tort reform measures, the Heritage Foundation’s Texas Public Policy Foundation reviewed the impacts that these reforms have had on both jobs and health care in the state.  Both cases mark record success. 

Editor’s Note: Project Lawsuit Abuse regularly highlights lawsuit abuse news from across the country. Today, Travis Akin, Executive Director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, contributed a guest post for Project Lawsuit Abuse.

Small business owners face many challenges – especially here in Illinois where businesses have to deal with onerous regulations, high taxes and fees and a culture of lawsuit abuse.

For example, an owner of a small grocery store told me he often thinks about leaving Illinois and opening up a store in a more business-friendly environment. He said every year his business is the target of litigation.

For the second year in a row, CNBC ranked West Virginia as one of the worst states in the nation for doing business. This ranking doesn’t surprise us – after all, West Virginia also has one of the nation’s worst legal climates! In short, the state has a whole lot of lawsuits and not a lot of jobs.

A number of factors contribute to West Virginia’s horrible legal climate. For one, the state is the only in the nation without an automatic right of appeal! This fact means that defendants in court are denied their fair chance to tell their stories, and it drives away jobs and businesses.

As we’ve told you before, lawsuit abuse hits small businesses particularly hard. From abusive Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits to outrageous slip and fall lawsuits, many small business owners live in fear of the day that an unscrupulous personal injury lawyer will come knocking at their door.

Small businesses are the backbones of our communities, providing two-thirds of all news jobs each year. But small businesses are also favorite targets of lawsuits, many of them abusive. At worst, a single abusive lawsuit can destroy a small business. At best, lawsuit abuse makes it even harder for small businesses to succeed, grow, and provide the jobs and services our communities need.

Here are some quick facts from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform about the impact of lawsuit abuse on small businesses:

•    Lawsuits cost small businesses $105.4 billion in 2008

Lawsuit abuse is a major problem in Illinois. While the state’s Midwest neighbors have passed common sense legal reforms and improved their economies, Illinois continues to allow personal injury lawyers to play the lawsuit lottery. As a result, Illinois’ legal climate is driving away good jobs and hurting residents.

During the most recent legislative session, Illinois lawmakers had numerous opportunities to improve the state’s legal climate. Unfortunately, they let the trial lawyer lobby have its way, failing to even bring legal reform legislation to a vote.

In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Harvard professor Niall Ferguson argues that doing business in the United States is becoming significantly harder. Why? Ferguson says one big reason is the fact that the United States has an exceptionally expensive legal system.

In today’s global economy, companies have choices about where they want to operate, and an out of control legal system is discouraging them from setting up shop in the United States. The end result? Fewer jobs and fewer economic opportunities.

Tort reformers have been turning up all over the internet recently. We took the liberty of rounding up some of the standouts. You may recognize a few friends of Project Lawsuit Abuse in there. Here are some of the newsmakers from around the country.

2013 Louisiana legislative session disappoints legal reformers