News


Read about legal reform in West Virginia and from across the country.


News From West Virginia

May 30
Editorial: Courts and consequences
Lawsuit abuse and its repercussions got real this week as Chesapeake Energy suddenly tubed plans to expand in West Virginia.

May 29
Business climate too bad to expand in W. Va., company says
One of the country's largest natural gas producers will not construct a state-of-the-art building in Charleston to use as the head of its eastern operations, citing the state Supreme Court's refusal to hear its appeal of a $405 million verdict against it.

May 07
Asbestos has long filled W. Va. courtrooms
The poor reputation of West Virginia's court system can be reflected in statistics dealing with asbestos litigation, an economic think tank said Tuesday.

April 24
End Reputation as 'Tort Hell'
Some people view West Virginia as "tort hell" and some do not. The reference is to whether there is an anti-business bias in the state's courts.

News From Across the Country

April 23
Harris Poll ranks West Virginia worst legal climate; Delaware best
Delaware has the nation's best legal climate, while courts in West Virginia ranked at the bottom, according to a survey of corporate attorneys released Wednesday.

April 23
Delaware Legal System Best, West Virginia Worst, Survey Shows
Delaware's legal system ranked the best and West Virginia's the worst in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of corporate lawyers who rated less than half of U.S. state courts as "excellent" or "pretty good."

February 19
New Web Site Highlights Abusive Lawsuit Stories
By now you've probably heard of the Washington, D.C. judge who sued his dry cleaners for millions of dollars over a pair of pants. Now there's a Web site that tells their story -- and many other personal stories of lawsuit abuse -- in their own words.

September 05
Lawyers in Iowa lawsuit against Microsoft to get $75M
A $75 million payout to the lawyers who sued Microsoft Corp. over antitrust claims in Iowa has some people in the state hopping mad.