Minnesota has a reputation as a state that’s friendly to litigators, and a new survey by the Pacific Research Institute seems to bolster that image.
The conservative think tank recently released its U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report, a ranking of each state based on its tort laws and tort costs. The index ranked Minnesota as a “sinner” -- meaning the state has “relatively high monetary tort losses and/or high litigation risks and relatively weak tort rules on the books…[and] are likely to face high and rising tort liability costs in the future if lawsuit abuse continues unchecked.”
Minnesota ranked 17th among states for the highest risk of litigation, and 4th for incoming monetary awards. According to PRI, that makes Minnesota a “judicial hell-hole.”
While Minnesota’s legal community would surely rather be seen as saints, at least they aren’t perceived by PRI as “suckers” -- a state with weak tort rules “because they currently have relatively low monetary tort losses and/or few litigation risks and, therefore, foolishly believe that they are not vulnerable and reform is not needed.”
Showing posts with label litigation trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label litigation trends. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Companies are suing, being sued less
Fulbright & Jaworski this week reported a "distinct drop" in the number of lawsuits filed against U.S. companies.
Based on interviews with in-house counsel at 250 major U.S. corporations, 17 percent of respondents said their companies had escaped the past year without having to defend a single new lawsuit — that's up from 11 percent the previous year.
Companies also seem to be suing less: just 65 percent had initiated at least one lawsuit in the past year, down from more than 70 percent a year ago and 88 percent in 2004.
So what kinds of suits are disappearing? Securities cases are down, along with bankruptcy disputes, Fulbright says. But other types of litigation, such as patent cases and product liability suits, are on the rise.
So depending on your practice, this could be good news or bad news. Either way, the majority of in-house counsel still identify labor and employment matters as the most frequent source of lawsuits.
And if you're general counsel, well, less litigation is always good — whether it's against your company or against you personally. The National Law Journal reported earlier this month that a record 10 GCs were charged with or pleaded to civil or criminal fraud in federal courts this year.
More information from the Litigation Trends Survey is available here.
Based on interviews with in-house counsel at 250 major U.S. corporations, 17 percent of respondents said their companies had escaped the past year without having to defend a single new lawsuit — that's up from 11 percent the previous year.Companies also seem to be suing less: just 65 percent had initiated at least one lawsuit in the past year, down from more than 70 percent a year ago and 88 percent in 2004.
So what kinds of suits are disappearing? Securities cases are down, along with bankruptcy disputes, Fulbright says. But other types of litigation, such as patent cases and product liability suits, are on the rise.
So depending on your practice, this could be good news or bad news. Either way, the majority of in-house counsel still identify labor and employment matters as the most frequent source of lawsuits.
And if you're general counsel, well, less litigation is always good — whether it's against your company or against you personally. The National Law Journal reported earlier this month that a record 10 GCs were charged with or pleaded to civil or criminal fraud in federal courts this year.More information from the Litigation Trends Survey is available here.
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