AEF is pleased to report a victory in the Oregon high court in the case of Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, inc., in which we partnered with the Washington Legal Foundation. The court held that the Oregon State Legislature could impose reasonable limits on “non-economic” damage in a tort action (such as pain and suffering and punitive damages).
Why is this important?
The moving party trying to eliminate limits on judgments is the plaintiffs’ bar because plaintiffs’ lawyers generally get paid a large contingency fee and seek to maximize jury awards and their resulting legal fees. This is in reality a transfer of wealth from the defendants (generally businesses) and their insurance companies to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who neither produce goods nor develop innovations.
Why should the general public care?
Because large judgments becomes a cost of business which is passed on to the consuming public and makes goods and services more expensive to all of us. In practical terms, we are all paying the cost of excessive jury awards.
AEF is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the judicial system and opposes attempts by the plaintiffs bar to make it more profitable for them to litigate. We welcome your support in this mission. To donate to our legal causes, please visit our donation form.
