I don’t agree with every one of the suggestions proposed by this Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform document authored by Victor Schwartz and Cary Silverman, but I agree with more than 90% of them, and it’s a good starting point for any discussion of tort reform.
One Comment
There are some intersting and worthwhile suggestions in this report. Having said that, there is also a somewhat naive (perhaps idealistic?) theme that underlies some of these ideas.
Under the heading of “Curbing Frivolous Litigation,” the report criticizes federal Rule 11 as being “toothless” and holds up as an example of a better sanctions provision our Fla. Stat. §57.105. Although the language of Fla. Stat. §57.105 may appear more “toothy,” anybody who actually practices in Florida will agree that it is rarely enforced. In my 22+ years of litigation, I have never obtained sanctions under Fla. Stat. §57.105 and can count on one hand the number of cases I know of where anybody else has.
On the other hand, most of my Florida brethren would also likely agree that the caliber of practice in our federal district courts is higher precisely because of the real risk of sanctions under Rule 11.