Romano
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - Reaction to West Virginia's being placed again on the Judicial Hellholes list drew varied but expected responses from those state court watchers.
The president of a state trial lawyers group criticized the report as "nothing more than propaganda released by billion-dollar special interests," while the executive director of a statewide legal reform group said improvements have been made, but that "West Virginia still has much work to do."
West Virginia was ranked third in the American Tort Reform Association's annual list of Judicial Hellholes. The report was released Tuesday.
Michael J. Romano, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice, was critical of ATRA and its report.
"The American Tort Reform Association was created for one purpose -- lobbying for immunity when corporations break the law," Romano said. "It is a front group for big money corporate special interests, and its so-called report is not a legitimate analysis of either West Virginia's legal system or our business climate."
He said those special interests "want immunity when corporations break the law and risk the lives and financial security of West Virginia consumers and workers."
To read the rest of the article, visit the West Virginia Record.