Chamber Again Releases Dubious Study; Spreads Misinformation About West Virginia Business Climate

 The West Virginia Association for Justice condemned the U. S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform for again releasing its widely discredited Harris study, which purports to be an accurate assessment of West Virginia’s legal climate. The so-called study is just more of the ongoing propaganda designed for one purpose–to scare West Virginia voters into giving up their constitutional right to trial by jury and provide total immunity for corporations who break the law.

“The Institute for Legal Reform’s Harris study has been discredited for years now by both the media and academics. To continue to release this study as ‘news’ and attack the State of West Virginia, its business climate and its courts shows the Chamber’s callous disregard for both the truth and the people of this state,” said Scott Blass, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice.

The Harris study was first discredited more than eight years ago. Copley News Service reported that “Humphrey Taylor with Harris Interactive said the survey is based on the individual responses of the [corporate] lawyers because there is no hard data that can be used to measure the perceived fairness of a state’s legal system” (“Survey says frivolous lawsuits hurt state’s reputation,” Copley News Service, 3/8/04).

The Harris study is not an independent analysis of the nation’s legal systems. Instead, it surveys only corporate attorneys who are employed as in-house counsel by corporations that earn at least $100 million in annual profits. In previous years’ studies, less than 10 percent of respondents had any first-hand knowledge of West Virginia courts.

“By questioning only its most powerful members, the Chamber is getting the results it wants and then issuing this ‘study’ as a legitimate analysis of our courts. It’s like asking fans at Mountaineer Field whether or not they want WVU to win the football game. It’s ridiculous,” Blass said. “Here’s the truth. Independent analyses show that, despite what ATRA claims, lawsuits are not an issue for business owners, West Virginia ranks just 39th in the number of lawsuits filed per capita and more than $13 billion in new business investments have been made since 2005.”

“Here’s another truth: our courts play a critical role in protecting the interests of West Virginia businesses. According to the National Center for State Courts, business against business contract cases comprise more than 50 percent of all civil cases filed nationally. Just five percent of civil cases are tort cases, but one-third of those are tort cases filed by one business against another. Even Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips agrees that our courts are essential to protecting our free market economy by holding businesses that break the law accountable.”

Phillips wrote, “The free market is wonderful. It encourages good behavior and punishes bad behavior. The civil court system is part of the free market. It is the part that punishes bad behavior.” ( http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/another-incursion-on-our-constitutional-rights)

In her empirical study Judicial Hellholes, Lawsuits Climates and Bad Social Science: Lessons from West Virginia, Elizabeth Thornburg found that:

• “As public relations ventures, the ATRA and ILR campaigns have been an astounding success. As well-founded, honest commentaries on judicial systems, however, they are a major failure.” (p. 3)
• “Empirical research by neutral scholars consistently shows that the claims [in these studies] are false or exaggerated.” (p. 5)
• “Real empirical research is complicated stuff–and a different world from opinion polls. Real state legislators deserve real information rather than name calling and threats as they try to find reasonable and targeted solutions to the programs of making the injured whole, deterring meritless claims, and encouraging businesses to provide safe workplaces and safe products for the benefit of us all.” (p. 41)

Get the Real Facts! Lawsuits Are Not a Concern for Businesses

In a 2009 study conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, business owners were asked what the “single most important problem” was for their businesses–and lawsuits didn’t make the list. (www.nfib.com)

1. Taxes

2. Inflation

3. Poor Sales

4. Finance and Interest Rates

5. Cost of Labor

6. Government Regulation and Red Tape

7. Competition from Large Businesses

8. Quality of Labor

The Truth About Lawsuits in West Virginia

• West Virginia ranks 39th among all states for the number of lawsuits filed per capita (www.ncsconline.org). In contrast to our good ranking in the bottom third, Maryland ranked first, Virginia second and Ohio seventh in the number of lawsuits filed.
• Appeals to the West Virginia Supreme Court declined to just 1668 in 2010–the lowest number since 1990. Civil appeals comprise just 20 percent of that total and have declined 45 percent in the last decade from 606 in 2001 to 343 in 2010 (2010 West Virginia Supreme Court Statistical Report).
• The study done by Brisbin and Kilwein found that “since the 1980s West Virginia courts–the trial court of general jurisdiction–have not experienced a massive upsurge in non-family law civil litigation.” (The Future of the West Virginia Judiciary: Problems and Policy Options by Richard Brisbin, Jr. and John C. Kilwein, 2007) The Truth About Our Economy
• More than $13 billion in new business investments have been made since 2005. (West Virginia Development Office)
• In 2010, West Virginia’s exports grew by $6.4 billion–a rate nearly three times the national average. (West Virginia Development Office)
• West Virginia removed approximately $91 million from the business tax burden in 2010–and has reduced that tax burden by $253 million in the last five years. (West Virginia Development Office)
• The Milken Cost of Doing Business Index has ranked West Virginia in the top 15 least expensive states to do business for nearly a decade (www.milken.org) and business costs are 13 percent below the national average (West Virginia Development Office)
• The U. S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 Enterprising States report ranks West Virginia first in budget surplus, sixth in short-term job growth and seventh in per capita income growth (ncf.uschamber.com)
• West Virginia is growing jobs in new industries too. According to the TechAmerica Foundation’s Cyberstates report, West Virginia was one of just eight states in the country to add high technology jobs in 2010.
• West Virginia closed the 2010 fiscal year with a budget surplus of more than $100 million–the fifth straight year with a surplus and no tax increases (West Virginia Development Office)
• The conservative Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card awarded West Virginia an A–one of just four states to receive its highest ranking. (West Virginia Development Office)