The tort "reform" package that has passed the state Senate may be the most pervasive one in the country, according to practitioners.
Currently, 17 states and the federal government are at various stages of considering changes designed to address perceived problems with the civil justice system.
The limits recently enacted in Texas had been touted as the most sweeping of the bunch - but that was prior to the relatively smooth sailing of Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, through the Ohio Senate.
Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy in New York, called the Ohio proposal "by far the broadest attack on the civil justice system - it certainly rivals Texas."
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The Ohio package permeates into nearly all dimensions of civil law - from placing a tight reign on asbestos litigation to overseeing the practice of law in the state.
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Do Reforms Work?
Doroshow, of the Center for Justice and Democracy, said the arguments for enacting strict tort limits are "completely bogus."
"Tort law reforms are never even listed in the top 10 issues businesses look at," she said. "It is fear-mongering to say that somehow Ohio's economy is going to be threatened if these measures aren't passed."
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