What Do We Mean By Tort Reform And Activist Judges?

More and more, it is becoming clear that the Legislature must work to stop activist judges and pass tort reform. These terms can be complicated, and I want to make sure that my constituents fully understand what they mean as well as why they are important and needed in Missouri.

In context, St. Louis was ranked the worst judicial hellhole in America last December by the American Tort Reform Association, and that’s due to our state’s lax policy regarding lawsuits. Our current standards invite needless lawsuits that only serve to clog our courts and encourage out-of-state lawyers to peddle cases into Missouri that couldn’t hold up anywhere else.

Numerous examples of these frivolous lawsuits can be seen by clicking here: http://www.judicialhellholes.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/020717-MMPA_Lawsuits.docx.

As an example, there were over 14 lawsuits in the last two years arguing over how “natural” a product was if it included sodium pyrophosphate, a common leavening agent in mixes. These lawsuits sought “recovery” for all consumers who bought these products, which ranged from candy to bread to cupcake mixes. Sodium pyrophosphate was listed on the ingredient panel, and likely no consumer had an issue with this chemical. But, lawyers still pursued cases based off of this fact anyway, suing companies making cake, brownie, and cookie mixes, biscuits; and even gluten free fudge gourmet brownie mix.

There were other lawsuits alleging that a product sold in nontransparent packaging was deceptive. Even if a product was accurately labeled, lawsuits claiming there should be more product in a given package were still filed. Raisinets, Reese’s Pieces, Kellogg’s-brand Fruit Snacks, Skittles and Junior Mints candy all faced cases based off of this flawed premise, and all of these cases were allowed due to Missouri’s weak lawsuit standards.

These baseless lawsuits hurt our economy by increasing risk to business owners, and they clearly demonstrate the need to pass tort reform. Further, the examples listed above are but a small peak into this overarching issue in Missouri’s legal system. It is vital that our state toughen the requirements for bringing a lawsuit and help stop unnecessary judicial havoc.

Second, “activist judges” are of concern because they can hinder the progress made by tort reform. An activist judge is one who takes a law and reinterprets it in a manner that deliberately construes the law’s original meeting.

The blatant examples of judicial overreach outlined in the link above have been seen time and time again in our state. For instance, in 2005, the Legislature passed a number of tort reforms, including non-economic damage caps, expert witness standards and collateral source revisions.  However, all of these items were re-interpreted or wholly struck down by the Missouri courts since their initial passage.

When an out-of-line judge takes a law out of context and into his or her own hands, it wreaks havoc on our legal system. Judicial activism has weakened Missouri’s expert witness standard, and that weakening allows cases to be filed in Missouri that couldn’t be filed in any other state.

Needless lawsuits and reckless judicial activism are running amuck in our state. Tort reform is a priority of the Missouri Legislature because we must restore the balance of government. The judicial branch has its role in striking down any potentially unconstitutional laws that were passed. However, the kind of overextension that we have seen from certain judges cannot continue to be tolerated, nor can the vast amount of needless lawsuits.

For the sake of our courts and our economy and for the sake of checks and balances, I look forward to seeing tort reform pass the House and Senate and become law.

Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.