West Virginia No Longer Ranked Among ‘Judicial Hellholes’
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DECEMBER 7, 2021 (WASHINGTON) – For the first time in almost two decades, West Virginia is notably absent from the Judicial Hellholes® report and rankings published annually by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF).
West Virginia was ranked as a Judicial Hellhole for 10 years and was on the report’s “Watch List” for the last seven years, but now appears in the report’s “Escaped List” in the 20th anniversary edition.
ATRF credits recent legislative reforms for the state’s escape from the dregs as a Judicial Hellhole and even named the state legislature as a “Point of Light” in this year’s report.
“West Virginia’s legislature has prioritized civil justice reforms in a serious way in recent years,” American Tort Reform Association President Tiger Joyce said. “With the creation of an intermediate court of appeals this year, West Virginia put itself on solid ground and will have a more balanced civil court system in coming years.”
Prior to the passage of Senate Bill 275, West Virginia was one of only nine states that did not have an intermediate appellate court.
During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers also addressed the issue of over-naming in asbestos litigation. ATRF reports this has become problematic in the second-worst Judicial Hellhole, New York, as well. In West Virginia, the Prim Law Firm had just three plaintiffs, but sued 169 defendants. At Goldberg, Persky & White, their three plaintiffs sued 162 defendants. Then the Antion and McGee Law Firm’s eight plaintiffs sued 166 defendants.
West Virginia Judge Ronald Wilson noticed the trend and called out the abuse. The bill passed by the legislature, House Bill 2495, provides that within 60 days of filing an asbestos or silica action, a plaintiff must file a sworn information form that specifies the evidence that provides the basis for each claim against the defendant and include supporting documentation. Plaintiffs have a continuing duty to supplement the required disclosures.
ATRF notes another important legislative reform, Senate Bill 439, which will allow juries to consider and use evidence regarding seat belt usage when determine damages resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
The eight Judicial Hellholes® ranked in the 2021-2022 report are:
California
New York
The Georgia Supreme Court
The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Cook, Madison, and St. Clair Counties, Illinois
Louisiana
City of St. Louis
South Carolina’s Asbestos Litigation
Judicial Hellholes® are deemed the most unjust local courts and state civil justice systems in the country.
Contact: Bailey Aragon | BAragon@atra.org | 505-948-0720 (M) | 202-682-0084 (O)
About the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA): Founded in 1986, ATRA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and is the nation’s first organization dedicated exclusively to reforming the civil justice system through education and legislative enactment. ATRA acts as a nationwide network of state-based liability reform coalitions backed by 142,000 grassroots supporters. ATRA works to bring greater fairness, predictability and efficiency to America’s civil justice system. Those efforts have resulted in the enactment of state and federal laws that make the system fairer for everyone.
About the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF): ATRF is a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, founded in 1997. The primary purpose of the Foundation is to educate the general public about how the American civil justice system operates; the role of tort law in the civil justice system; and the impact of tort law on the private, public and business sectors of society. It is a sister organization of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA).
