President expected to sign bill targeting large jury verdicts
Jump to full article: Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate, 2005-02-18
Author: PENNY BROWN ROBERTS / Advocate staff writer
Intro: Consumers who think they've been wronged may have a tougher time suing for damages under an initiative Congress approved Thursday. . . .
"They call it tort reform, but it's tort deform," said Maury Herman, a New Orleans attorney who is president of the organization. "It's an anti-consumer measure that has the effect of denying consumers the right to join together as a class to address what amounts to corporate greed and fraud on a grand scale."
He cited the recent verdict by a New Orleans jury that the tobacco industry pay nearly $591 million for nicotine patches, advertising and other programs to help Louisiana smokers kick the habit. That case is on appeal.
"That verdict would not have been possible under this new bill because it federalizes everything," Herman said. "The states' rights party has taken the matter completely out of the hands of the states."
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