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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\"></p>           Nearly nine out of ten Americans think lawsuit abuse is a problem. <br /><br />The other 10 percent are suing them. (Little joke, there.)<br /><br />According to a poll released last week by the American Tort Reform Association and a group called Sick of Lawsuits, 89 percent of survey respondents are concerned about lawsuit abuse.<br /><br />Needless to say, business groups are touting the results of the survey while trial lawyer associations dismiss them.<br /><br />\"The results of the survey are clear,\" said Richie Heath, executive director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. \"Americans believe that lawsuit abuse is a serious problem and they want to see lawmakers do something about it.\"<br /><br />Scott Blass, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice, responded, \"This so-called study isn't news. It's business as usual from the American Tort Reform Association.\"<br /><br />That's what you'd expect from a guy who represents the interests of trial lawyers.<br /><br />Here's the thing, though: the American Tort Reform Association and West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse don't condemn all lawsuits, just abusive ones.<br /><br />Why, then, is the West Virginia Association for Justice so defensive on this subject?<br /><br />No doubt Blass and his associates would define lawsuit abuse more narrowly than Heath and his associates, but surely the WVAJ can agree with their pro-business rivals that lawsuit abuse does occur, that some in the legal profession make a habit of engaging in it, and that our courts and our economy would benefit from curbing such abuse.<br /><br />Are there no lawsuits whatsoever that Blass and his justice league would consider abusive? Is there nothing some lawyers can do that would be considered beyond the pale?<br /><br />Maybe the Blass group can supply its own definition of lawsuit abuse and a couple of examples of recent court cases that qualify. <br /><br />There needs to be some common ground between Blass and Heath, some ethical overlap that would allow them to work together for the good of all."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://wvrecord.com/stories/510603416-lawsuit-abuse-becoming-major-issue-for-most-americans>