This year has seen an unprecedented increase in bills filed containing private rights of action. A private right of action specifically authorizes bringing a lawsuit as an enforcement mechanism for the subject matter of the bill. Some bills contain dual enforcement mechanisms that allow a government agency or the Attorney General to enforce, but also allow…
Coalition Updates: Community
PCCJR Calls for Open and Transparent Review of Med Mal Venue Rule Reversal
In an opinion piece in the Legal Intelligencer, Curt Schroder, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, advocates for a transparent review of the effects of the medical malpractice venue rule reversal on healthcare and the legal climate in Pennsylvania. A key passage accompanying the rule change calls for a reevaluation two…
PCCJR to Host CLE Class on Transformation of Pennsylvania Civil Law
The sea change that has taken place in Pennsylvania’s civil law since 2016 will be the topic of an upcoming event hosted by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform. The panel discussion will include a review and analysis of important appellate cases in the context of the shifting membership on the Supreme and appellate…
PCCJR to Host CLE Class on Post-COVID Jury Trends
The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform will host a 2-credit CLE course in August. The program will include a panel discussion on post-COVID jury trends and the rise of Nuclear Verdicts in the Commonwealth. This virtual event will take place on Wednesday, August 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost to participate is $15.…
High Medical Malpractice Jury Verdicts: “The Crisis is Here”
Pennsylvania is seeing a staggeringly high number of medical malpractice verdicts with devastating damage awards. Since January of 2023, the number of medical malpractice cases filed in Philadelphia’s notoriously verdict friendly Court of Common Pleas has sharply increased, as have the number of “nuclear” verdicts. The impact this negative trend is having on the Commonwealth’s health care…
Time to Put an End to Litigation Tourism
Philadelphia has long held the reputation of being one of the worst “judicial hellhole’s” in the country thanks to its notoriously plaintiff friendly, high-verdict court system. A key factor in this designation is Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center (CLC), which was created in 1992 to handle complex mass tort cases and quickly became a beacon for trial…