West Virginia Sees Some, Not Enough, Tort Reform

: "There are two tort systems in West Virginia, or so it seems to observers of the litigation climate there. The first has been reformed in recent years, delivering the benefits of competition and choice to consumers, lowering prices, and luring companies and professionals. The second tort system, however, continues to drag down the West Virginia economy, delivering verdicts against defendants that bear little relation to actual damages or a fair reading of liability. This second and unreformed tort system earned West Virginia the dubious distinction of being the only statewide area to be named a 'judicial hellhole' by the American Tort Reform Association in its late 2005 report. The other areas named 'judicial hellholes' were the Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast in Texas; Cook, Madison, and St. Clair Counties in Illinois; and South Florida."