The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform
released its 2005 state liability rankings
on March 8, 2005. The report supports continued
civil justice reform efforts. This is the fourth
year for the national survey of senior corporate
attorneys from around the country, conducted
by Harris Interactive.
The
best ranked states are Delaware, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Virginia and Iowa. North
Dakota replaces Idaho in the top five. The
bottom-ranked states for 2005 are Mississippi,
West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and Illinois. Illinois
replaces California in the worst 10 percent
of states.
In addition, three Illinois counties are in
the list of local jurisdictions with the worst
legal environments for businesses: Cook, Madison,
and St. Clair counties. St. Clair County is
located next to Madison County in southern
Illinois.
The
survey indicates that about 90 percent of
interviewed corporate attorneys familiar
with the recent legislation expect improvements
in Texas and over 95 percent expect improvements
in Mississippi, following recent enactment
of significant tort reforms in those states.
At the same time, Illinois and Florida are
significant among states dropping in the survey,
with Illinois down 12 spots in the last three
years to number 46, and Florida down nine spots
in the last three years to number 42.
Over
80 percent of senior in-house counsel say
that the litigation environment in a state
could affect important business decisions at
their company, including where to locate or
do business.
