The Cooper Firm

In a recent New York Times article, representatives of the United States Chamber of Commerce brag about their "tort reform" efforts. The U.S. Chamber has declared war on trial lawyers, particularly class action lawyers. Unfortunately, the collateral damage of this war is the erosion of most citizens’ constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Even though the Chamber highlights the abuses of national class action lawyers, most of their legislative agenda targets state laws which protect access to the courts. The U.S. Chamber funds efforts in many states throughout the country to restrict the damages which individuals may recover from corporations. For example, here in Georgia, the U.S. Chamber backed an effort in 2005 to limit the amount of damages the family of a child can recover in the event the child’s death is caused by the negligence of a corporation.

The U.S. Chamber may say it is a conservative, pro-business organization. Its tort reform effort, however, is anti-conservative, anti-consumer and anti-business? Its agenda only protects businesses which negligently or recklessly harm our citizens? The U.S. Chamber is anti-conservative because it attempts to take away our right to trial by jury. The founding fathers considered this right so precious that they included it in the Bill of Rights. The U.S. Chamber crowd apparently believes they are wiser than John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So, the next time the U.S. Chamber brags about its tort reform efforts, remember, they are targeting you.