What’s this hidden tort tax, and what are these “judicial hellholes” that dot the country? It’s all in the Americans for Tort Reforms annual report on the subject. It’s not just blue states on the top ten list—plenty of red state courts are on there, too. These are the courts where lawsuit abuse is commonplace. Given the lawfare experienced against Donald Trump, though not civil lawsuits, there’s something of a common theme here: the gross toying with statutes that renders them meaningless. New York did this in the hush money trial with Trump regarding the statute of limitations.
On these matters, these “judicial hellholes” are environments ripe for “allowing innovative lawsuits to proceed or for welcoming litigation tourism.” This depraved game of legalese costs us to the tune of $1,541 per person or $6,244 yearly for a family of four. That’s the hidden tax, which undoubtedly increases with the rise of these hellholes being accommodating legal grounds for so-called nuclear verdicts—those judgments in which punitive damages exceed $10 million.
“Our Judicial Hellholes report isn’t just about rankings or naming names — it’s about accountability,” American Tort Reform Association president Tiger Joyce said in a press release.
This report serves as a necessary watchdog and provides all citizens a stark warning about the issues our civil justice system faces today,” he added. Major concerns like the proliferation of nuclear verdicts and judges’ acceptance of questionable scientific evidence in these jurisdictions are not just legal issues – they burden the economy with excessive costs that are ultimately paid by all consumers.
New York and Pennsylvania are among the worst offenders:
#1 THE PHILADELPHIA COURT OF COMMON PLEAS & THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Lawsuit abuse in the City of Brotherly Love has reached a fever pitch with nuclear verdicts becoming the norm and novel theories of liability flourishing. Eye-popping nine- figure damage awards were issued without hardly a thought and medical liability lawsuits continue to flood the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas due to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate an important requirement for entry. The situation is not expected to improve as a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision allows for duplicative damages in certain types of cases.
#2 NEW YORK CITY A “fraudemic” hit the Big Apple in 2024. Some of the worst examples of lawsuit abuse came to light in New York City with the filing of several RICO lawsuits against plaintiffs’ firms. Unique New York laws like the Scaffold Law and the state’s consumer protection act are ripe for abuse and plaintiffs’ lawyers have seized the opportunity to cash in.
#3 SOUTH CAROLINA ASBESTOS LITIGATION South Carolina’s asbestos judge has a clear bias against corporate defendants. This bias is obvious in rulings that result in unfair trials and severe verdicts. Anti- corporate bias is also evident in the judge’s imposition of unwarranted sanctions, a willingness to overturn or modify jury verdicts to benefit plaintiffs, and frequent appointment of a receiver to maximize recoveries from insurers.
#4 GEORGIA Georgia’s civil justice system is plagued by skyrocketing nuclear verdicts®, inflated awards for medical costs, expansive premises liability, and laws that set-up defendants to fail creating endless liability. Georgia courts also continue to embrace an archaic seatbelt gag rule that precludes a jury from hearing evidence about whether an occupant wore a seatbelt at the time of a crash.
#5 CALIFORNIA The trial bar goes to California to pursue innovative new theories of liability and push the envelope with regard to expanding liability for business. The state also has the most nuclear verdicts® of any state in the country and the state attorney general is leading the charge in baseless environmental litigation. The state’s unique Lemon Law is a gold mine for plaintiffs’ lawyers and “no-injury” Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) and Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accessibility lawsuits bog down business.
#6 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS The county is home to a disproportionate amount of the state’s litigation and nuclear verdicts®. No-injury litigation, including claims filed under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act and consumer protection laws, is the main contributor to Cook County’s sustained appearance on the Judicial Hellholes® list. The county is a hotbed for asbestos litigation and Illinois plaintiffs’ lawyers contribute millions of dollars to campaigns to maintain the status quo.
#7 ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Judges in St. Louis issue plaintiff-friendly rulings and embrace junk science, signaling to plaintiffs’ lawyers across the country, and now the globe, that St. Louis courts are open for their business. St. Louis courts also remain a hotspot for asbestos lawsuits. Rather than address rampant lawsuit abuse, the Missouri legislature has turned a blind eye and has been complicit in creating an unjust legal system.
#8 THE MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT The Michigan Supreme Court sent mixed signals about junk science, continues to take an expansive approach to premises liability and created innovative new ways for employees to sue their employers.
#9 KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON The county makes its first ever appearance on the Judicial Hellholes® list thanks to judges’ proclivity for unfair group trials, allowing junk science, and substitution of the laws of other states for Washington law when favorable to plaintiffs.
#10 LOUISIANA Nuclear verdicts® plague the state’s civil justice system, bringing it in line with other Judicial Hellholes®. Meanwhile, the Louisiana Supreme Court caved to political pressure from the plaintiffs’ bar and discarded established constitutional protections in favor of lawsuits. Perennial issues also plague the state’s civil justice system – coastal litigation bogs down the state’s economy and fallout from “Operation Sideswipe” continues.
It reminds me of a joke: What do you call 1,000 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?
"A good start."
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