Tort Reform News: FRIVOLOUS SUITS HURT BUSINESS
The following is a digest of an article originally appearing at the Texans for Lawsuit Reform website. The Texas Lobby Group is posting this summary as a public service for Texans interested in tort reform.
it is well known that owning a small business is not easy to do. The problems that small businesses face range from changing health care laws to new federal taxes and regulations, and there is no shortage of them. Excessive lawsuits however, should not be one of them. Small businesses in Louisiana, such as mine, are the targets of lawsuit abuse far too often. My small store in Monroe has been the victim of more than 100 different lawsuits with 3,600 plaintiffs within the past 10 years. I’ve been forced to spend millions on legal fees to defend my business, and we have never once been found to be at fault. However, the consequences of these accusation that have been made have been devastating for my company, my employees and their families.
A recent survey of small business owners in the area shows that I am not alone in feeling that this sort of treatment is wrong. 89 percent of business owners in Louisiana said frivolous lawsuits are a “serious problem,” according to a statewide poll. The main point is that Louisiana’s unsatisfactory legal environment makes it very hard for small businesses to survive. We need lawsuit reform that will help bring justice and honesty back to our legal system.
Our civil justice system is supposed to provide justice for those who have been truly wronged.
Mike Carter. Monroe, LA
Read original article here.