Opinion: Dawn of a New Day
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urns Motor Freight Inc.
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For several years, the trucking industry has seen our businesses threatened by skyrocketing jury awards that have helped escalate the costs of our insurance coverage. Our businesses, many built over a lifetime of hard work, have been attacked despite the fact that, as a whole, we are operating more safely today than ever before. You and I know that this is wrong — and so does President Bush, which is why he announced that when Congress reconvenes, he will seek stronger measures to prevent abusive lawsuits. Just as we were with him in supporting the
Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, the American Trucking Associations will continue to support him in these efforts as well.
y signing this measure into law, President Bush has ensured that our trucks will continue to deliver the goods that keep our businesses vital and the economy moving. It means that new construction will go forward and consumers will not be penalized by paying higher prices for their goods. It means that the American worker will get back to work and build upon this nation's proud legacy. In practical terms, it also means that judgments and rulings by courts will be more consistent, an important reassurance for our businesses.
ATA hasn't limited its efforts to the federal level though. Late in 2001, members of ATA's Insurance Task Force elected to take long-term action on tort reform: first, by supporting business-friendly candidates in federal and state elections; and second, by supporting tort reform efforts in state legislatures and in Congress. While we knew that answers would not come quick or easy, we were committed to this course for the long haul. We remain committed today.
One of our greatest, and most improbable, victories occurred last month with the passage of a general tort reform law in Mississippi that will limit lawsuit abuses and make for a more attractive business environment. Mississippi's reputation in the tort-suit area is considered so egregious that the recent American Tort Reform Association report, "Judicial Hellholes," pinpointed three counties in Mississippi as among the worst counties in the U.S. for business exposure to tort suits. ATA and the Mississippi Trucking Association supported the legislation that is now law, which calls for a stop to practices such as holding business owners responsible for selling defective products that they did not design or manufacture; capping punitive damages, based on 4% of a company's net worth, not to exceed $20 million in most cases; restricting venue shopping; and changing the way that multiple defendants can be held financially liable.
Businesses operating in Mississippi can now go about their work without the constant threat of frivolous lawsuits or excessive punitive damages that prove financially devastating. But this is just one state.
While the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and Mississippi's actions are good news for businesses in general and the trucking industry in particular, the problem remains far from solved. These events prove that the trucking industry's voice is being heard by legislators throughout the country who agree that it is time to make changes in our tort system. This year, the ATA Insurance Task Force drafted model tort reform legislation for all 50 states and in the coming year, we will introduce tort reform bills into as many state legislatures as possible.
But our voice must remain strong. To continue to take this fight to the trial lawyers, we need your help and your support. This is not just about the future of our industry, but about the future of your business.
The Mississippi bill, along with the Pennsylvania law passed earlier this year limiting joint and several liability, are stepping stones into the future for the trucking industry's efforts in tort reform. Ohio has recently made tremendous strides of its own by passing legislation requiring defendants in a lawsuit to pay only their fair share of any damage awards. At its next legislative session, we will try and make similar changes in my own state, West Virginia. By taking such actions, and with the continuing support of our members and the state trucking associations, we will help ensure that this is indeed the dawn of a new day.
The writer is chairman of American Trucking Associations' Insurance Task Force. ATA owns TT Publishing Group, which publishes Transport Topics.
This article appears in the Dec. 16 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
