Kane County might back reforms in civil laws

With the goal of deterring frivolous lawsuits that negatively affect small businesses, the Kane County Board is poised to consider a resolution urging state lawmakers to reform Illinois' civil justice system.

The board's legislative committee Wednesday forwarded a resolution to the executive committee seeking to fix "one of the worst lawsuit climates in the nation."

"I think it's a problem," committee chairman Bill Wyatt said.

The Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Illinois Civil Justice League, is lobbying the Kane and DuPage county boards and other local governments to call on legislators to enact comprehensive lawsuit reform. A representative of the agency presented the measure at Wednesday's meeting.

"Who's impacted? Small businesses, mom-and-pop businesses," said Ryan McLaughlin, vice president of Zapwater Communications, speaking on behalf of the Institute for Legal Reform. "A million-dollar business in Kane County spends $17,000 each year on tort liability costs."

That estimate is based on an analysis conducted for the Institute. The organization ranks states annually from least- to most-abused lawsuits. This year the group ranked Illinois 46th among the 50 states, down from 45th last year. And earlier this week the American Tort Reform Foundation named Cook County among its "judicial hellholes" for hosting a disproportionate number of the state's large civil cases.

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association members plan to express their opposition to the measure when it is debated by the executive committee next month, association president Bruce M. Kohen said.

"From what I can tell, apparently this is just another propaganda campaign put forth by groups whose stated mission is to access the courts and ultimately destroy the civil justice system," Kohen said.

Checks and balances already are in place within the court system to deal with so-called "frivolous" lawsuits, Kohen said.

"That's why we have judges and juries and appellate courts and supreme courts that review the awards and the cases and decide whether a case is appropriate or not," he said. "What (tort reformers) want to do is close and shut and lock the courthouse doors and label something as frivolous before you have an opportunity to present your case."