« Ind. Courts - Former Tippecanoe County court bailiff pleads guilty to theft | Main | Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues five today »
Friday, March 10, 2006
Law - Still more on: Federal agencies try to limit suits in state courts
Today the NY Times weighs in again on the move by federal regulatory agencies to limit, by regulation, the states' right to hear liability cases. The story is titled "'Silent Tort Reform' Is Overriding States' Powers." Some quotes:
SUPPORTERS and detractors call it the "silent tort reform" movement, and it has quietly and quickly been gaining ground.For background, see this ILB entry from Feb. 19th and its links to earlier entries.Across Washington, federal agencies that supervise everything from auto safety to medicine labeling have waged a powerful counterattack against active state prosecutors and trial lawyers. In the last three decades, the state courts and legislatures have been vital avenues for critics of Washington deregulation. Federal policy makers, having caught onto the game, are now striking back.
Using a variety of largely unheralded regulations, officials appointed by President Bush have moved in recent months to neuter the states. At the urging of industry groups, the federal agencies have inserted clauses in new rules that block trial lawyers and state attorneys general from applying both higher standards in state laws and those in state court precedents.
The efforts by the federal regulators may wind up doing more than Congress to change state tort laws.
Last month, for instance, the bedding industry persuaded the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt a rule over the objections of safety groups that would limit the ability of consumers to win damages under state laws for mattresses that catch fire. The move was the first instance in the agency's 33-year history of the commission's voting to limit the ability of consumers to bring cases in state courts.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 10, 2006 11:04 AM
Posted to Administrative Law | General Law Related