Doylestown - Wisconsin's Liability Crisis

Had Governor Jim Boyle signed Senate Bill 402, City of Milwaukee v NL Industries might not be taking place.  Neither would a whole industry have to brace to the coming "Thomas" trial [Thomas v Mallett, 701 N.W.2d 523 (Wis. 2005].     

And the Wisconsin economy wouldn't be in a liability crisis.   As the research by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce found, Senate Bill 402 would have protected industry and the Wisconsin overall economy from recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions.  Those decisions encourage lawsuits which are:

• Frivolous [hey, why not fine those who file them]
• Joint and Several Liability like "Thomas"
• Have no statue of limitations like the current lead paint trial. The charge of conspiracy focuses on the operations of a trade association in the 1920s.
• Targeted at middlemen such as retailers which sell a product but had no role in its design, manufacture, or labeling. 

In 2005, the American Tort Reform Association voted the Wisconsin Supreme Court as one of the major Judicial Hellholes in the U.S.  Mississippi was also in a similar category until it badly needed a major industry to come to the state.  Toyota contacted the governor and made some suggestions.  Unlike Doyle, that governor cleaned up the tort system so that Toyota and other businesses would feel safe from the busy-bee plaintiff bar.  Toyota has announced its new plant will be in Mississippi.

What industry will feel safe coming to Wisconsin? The litigation risk is way too high. Ironically, Wisconsin is engaged in a search for a compelling brand identity.  But doesn't it already have one: Doylestown, home of the public nuisance lawsuits.