The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to reforming the civil justice system and advocating for

tort reform Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...

. It was founded in 1986 by the American Council of Engineering Companies and was joined shortly thereafter by the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

. ATRA's members are largely Fortune 500 companies. Although sponsored by major industries, ATRA has worked hard to present a dramatically different public image of itself, claiming to represent small businesses and average citizens. The ATRA supports an agenda to increase public awareness of, and suggest changes in, the manner in which tort litigation is conducted in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Some of these proposed changes would effectively limit the ability of

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

plaintiffs A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

to recover against

tortfeasor A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

s. Examples include: *Limitations on liability for

medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...

*Abolition of the rule of

joint and several liability Where two or more persons are liable in respect of the same liability, in most common law legal systems they may either be: * jointly liable, or * severally liable, or * jointly and severally liable. Joint liability If parties have joint liabili ...

*Abolition of the collateral source doctrine *Limitations on

punitive damages Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...

*Limitations on noneconomic damages *Changes in

products liability Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause. Although the word "product" has bro ...

law *Greater skepticism in the admission of

expert testimony An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

*Stopping so-called " regulation through litigation" *Promotion of

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

service ATRA is trying to reform the following aspects of the civil legal system: appeal bonds, class action lawsuits, contingent fees, forums and venues, joint and several liabilities, judgment interest, jury service, medical liability, noneconomic damages, phantom damages, product liability, punitive damages, and teacher liability protection. ATRA has identified attorney misconduct as a part of the problem with the tort system and displayed a billboard targeting a particular "unethical lawyer." At the end of every year since 2002, ATRA publishes its annual Judicial Hellholes report, which is a list of locales that ATRA calls the worst courts in the United States. The 2019-2020 report lists the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas as the worst court in the country. Prior to 2020, the No. 1 Judicial Hellhole according to ATRA was the state of California. The other "judicial hellholes" listed in the 2019-2020 report were California; New York City; Louisiana; the City of St. Louis, Missouri; Georgia; Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois; Oklahoma; the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Twin Cities; and, the New Jersey Legislature. ATRA also awards the Civil Justice Achievement Award annually. Winners include Charlie Ross,

Walter Olson Walter K. Olson (born 1954) is an author and blogger who writes mostly about legal subjects, including tort reform. Olson is a senior fellow of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C. Formerly, Olson was associated with t ...

Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia, elected for the first time in 1992 and re-elected in 1998, and director of the Peace Corps from 1989 until ...

, Bill Pryor, and John H. Sullivan.

References

External links

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Organizational Profile
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National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the nonprofit sector of the U.S. economy. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases and develops sta ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that carries out economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations and pr ...

) Legal advocacy organizations in the United States {{Business-org-stub