Stop Lawsuit Abuse in Mississippi

The fight against lawsuit abuse
Where is Mississippi today?

Over the past several years, citizens interested in legal reform and Mississippi’s leaders have worked together to make real improvements in our state’s legal climate.

Legal reforms improve our state

Following a healthcare crisis and passage of medical liability reforms early in the decade, Governor Haley Barbour led a successful effort in 2004 to pass broad legal reforms.

Also, early in this decade the philosophy of Mississippi’s Supreme Court became more restrained, and in 2004 the Court changed a rule to stop tens of thousands of people who had no relationship to Mississippi from filing unfair and abusive lawsuits in state courts paid for by Mississippi taxpayers. With the new rule, a person couldn’t file a lawsuit in a court jurisdiction unless he or she lived or was injured in the location where the suit is filed.

Reforming the legal system has had a positive impact on the state. Since 2004 Mississippi has seen an improved economy and new job opportunities. As Governor Barbour noted in his 2008 State of the State speech, since 2004 Mississippi has gained more than 50,000 jobs, seen personal income rise by 20 percent, watched the state’s Rainy Day Fund increase from $10 million to $270 million

Katrina recovery

Since August 2005, the ongoing effort to help Hurricane Katrina victims recover and rebuild has been a top issue in the state and a major concern of our elected officials and all Mississippians.

STOP Lawsuit Abuse in Mississippi wishes the best to all victims working to recover from their losses – and the friends and neighbors working to help them restore their lives to normalcy.

A vast majority of those who experienced damages have received some form of compensation through insurance coverage, grants and/or emergency aid. Still others are involved in ongoing lawsuits.

The legal disputes have raised questions about how some attorneys seek to "try" their cases in the media. Questionable accusations flew thick and fast in the media prior to any lawsuits being resolved, perhaps the most notable being Attorney General Jim Hood's reference to an industry as being "Nazis."

For many homeowners, Mississippi's post-Katrina mediation system has shown to be a path for successful resolution of disputes, with approximately nine out of ten cases taken to mediation being resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

STOP publicly applauded state leaders like Governor Barbour and U.S. Senator Thad Cochran for their successful efforts in bringing federal aid to coastal homeowners outside of the designated flood zones.

While our state's economy has been growing, bringing along with it many good job opportunities for Mississippi workers, a great deal still needs to be done to bring our coastal areas back.

Based on the evidence of what has transpired to date, it appears that lawsuits have not proven to be the most effective approach to resolving ongoing issues. Also, if lawsuits were to make liability protection for homeowners unaffordable or unavailable, rebuilding would grind to a halt and all Mississippians would suffer as a result.

Legal sunshine law debated

More recently, openness in government and public accountability have emerged as issues before the legislature. Governor Barbour has called for a sunshine law to require that any private attorney being hired by the state must go through a competitive bidding process and openly report fees and expenses paid. To read more about the ongoing effort to create more disclosure between the Attorney General’s office and private attorney contracts, click here.

Scruggs bribery conviction

Early 2008 saw the fall of powerful plaintiffs attorney, Richard “Dickie” Scruggs as he plead guilty to federal judicial bribery charges stemming from a bribe to a Lafayette County Circuit Court judge concerning a Hurricane Katrina settlement. To read more click here.

In summary

Mississippi needs a fair and equitable legal system, and actions by our governor, state legislature and Supreme Court in recent years have made great strides to improve our civil justice system. In addition, legal reforms have been instrumental in helping to improve healthcare, job opportunities and the economic environment for all Mississippians.

While some lawsuits are legitimate, we all need to be vigilant that we do not slip backwards to the lawsuit abuse problems we saw just a few years ago.