| Tort Hellholes continued
However, political changes in some jurisdictions may result in efforts to push back existing reforms, according to the group's
National Underwriter Property and Casualty Editor Sam Friedman declares 2006 an outstanding year for the industry.
Here are his reasons:
- No hurricanes after two record catastrophe seasons.
- No major revelations coming out of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s office.
- The industry is reporting skyrocketing net income.
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general counsel. This "Judicial Hellholes" is the fifth annual report that examines the state of the U.S. in terms of our civil justice system. The report rates jurisdictions as hellholes that are places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits.
All the jurisdictions in this list were also in last year's list, but the order has changed due to some changes in the legal climate. The 2006 list named West Virginia as the worst judicial hellhole; followed by South Florida; the Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast of Texas; Cook County, Illinois; Madison County, Illinois; and St. Clair County, Illinois.
The report also found some new trouble spots:
- Miller County, Arkansas: It hosts more personal injury cases per capita than any other county in the state.
- Delaware: Though it has a reputation for judicial fairness, remains on the watch list due to a growing wave of asbestos liability filings.
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