On November 6, voters in Florida will decide whether to re-elect three Florida Supreme Court justices. While this retention election is typically a sleepy event, this year it’s shaping up to be a big deal. Why? Because trial lawyers are spending millions of dollars to keep these judges in power.

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.

Lawsuit industry fueling Judy Cates’ court campaign

Lately, Project Lawsuit Abuse has been reminding you about the importance of judicial elections. The fact is that judges have a huge impact on our lives – they can determine whether your city is a magnet for jobs or a magnet or lawsuits! Voters need to inform themselves about their judicial candidates and find out which ones will fight against lawsuit abuse and stand up to trial lawyers. 

Just last week, Project Lawsuit Abuse told you about how trial lawyers are funding Judy Cates’ campaign for 5th District Appellate Court in Illinois. Now, it looks like they’re doing the same thing in Louisiana, funneling thousands of dollars to Judge Jewel E. “Duke” Welch’s campaign for Louisiana Supreme Court. In fact, trial lawyer donations account for more than 80% of Welch’s overall contributions.

Lately, the news has been full of reports about unscrupulous trial lawyers.  In September, a trial lawyer was disbarred for illegally demanding $2 million from a client. Two weeks ago, Scott Johnson, who is responsible for thousands of ADA lawsuits across California, was accused of crimes (that we won’t mention here).

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.

How Tort Reform Could Increase Access to Justice for Patients
Limiting damages in medical malpractice cases — what most people think of as “tort reform” — could become a hot topic again if Georgia legislators finally try to reimpose the caps thrown out by the state Supreme Court in 2010. -Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Everything really is bigger in Texas. The Lone Star State has experienced enormous job growth in the last few years. It is no coincidence that this job surge followed the state’s passage of significant legal reforms such as “loser pays,” where plaintiffs must cover their opponents’ legal fees if their claims are found groundless.

These changes have brought Texas litigation costs to a record low and made it a model of success for other states.

Editor’s Note: Project Lawsuit Abuse regularly highlights lawsuit abuse news from across the country. Today, By Larry Westerlund, Councilman, City of Fresno and member of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, contributed a guest post as part of the continuing Create Jobs, Not Lawsuits tour.

Editor’s Note: Project Lawsuit Abuse regularly highlights lawsuit abuse news from across the country. Today’s blog post comes to us from Maryann Marino, Regional Director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.

As our attention moves from Tampa to the East Coast, we’re keeping a close watch this week to see if members of the Democratic National Party acknowledge the need for legal reform.

Our lawsuit system is hurting.  There are too many frivolous lawsuits in an already limited infrastructure, costing taxpayer dollars and clogging up the system for courts with merit.  Courtrooms don’t always make sure that fairness is the priority for all parties involved, with runaway verdicts and venue shopping.  Even judges don’t always end up fulfilling campaign promises and attorneys general can misuse power.

Last week, West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse gladly took part in the “Create Jobs, Not Lawsuits” tour – a national campaign supported by Sick of Lawsuits and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse groups across the country to bring attention to the effects of lawsuit abuse on our economy.

As part of the West Virginia “tour stop,” WV CALA hosted a lengthy roundtable discussion with local job providers and other members of the business community concerned about the impact of lawsuit abuse on our state’s economy. The message that came out of our useful discussion was clear – West Virginia still needs to do more to fix its legal climate.

Sick of Lawsuits street team is pounding the street of Tampa today to hand out issues of the new lawsuit abuse satirical newspaper, The Lemon, and spread the news about the drag lawsuit abuse is putting on our economy.

Have you read this parody take on lawsuit abuse yet?  Read your copy online on the Sick of Lawsuits Website today and tell us what you think.  Satirical stories mock the outrageous lawsuits and abuses of our legal system —  even the real stories sometimes seem so absurd, they could be unreal!