Another Corporate "Study" Of the Tort System

The Center for Justice and Democracy issued a press release condemning another "study" paid for by the corporate front group The American Justice Partnership and the Pacific Research Institute:

"The Center for Justice & Democracy today called the newly released “U.S. Tort Liability Index” from The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) “unscientific and meaningless, relying on a combination of discredited studies from other corporate front groups and self-serving categories that have no bearing on a state’s business climate.”"

UPI points out that "the American Justice Partnership is an arm of the National Association of Manufacturers." (NAM) In case you missed my previous posts about the National Association of Manufacturers, its a special interest group run by former Michigan Governor John Engler.  I contacted Mr. Engler to urge him to strip imprisoned former U.S. Representative Randy Cunningham of the award NAM bestowed upon him for legislative excellence.

Shortly after contacting Mr. Engler, I had literally dozens of hits from the National Association of Manufacturers.  While they didn't formally strip Mr. Cunningham of his award - maybe it's in his jail cell with him today - they at least pulled most of their references to him from their web site.  And no, NAM never thanked me for pointing out how bad it looked that they still had Cunningham's smiling face on their web site even after his conviction.

What's even funnier about this study than who paid for it is the fact that it completely contradicts the American Tort Reform Association's famed "Judicial Hellholes" report.  While NAM and the PRI say that Texas has "the best legal climate in the nation" due to tort reform measures passed over the last several years, the Judicial Hellholes placed the Rio Grande Valley in Texas as the worst legal climate in the nation.

To my good friends at NAM, the ATRA, and PRI: Why don't you guys talk before you release your propaganda?  It really hurts the cause to have one group talking about how Texas has the best legal climate in the nation, while another says it's the worst judicial hellhole in the nation.  If you keep putting out contradictory information like this, the general public might figure out that everything else you claim is a lie, too. 

Jeez - I thought you guys were professionals.