In the name of justice

Jim Welty is CURRENTly out riding a wave somewhere, taking advantage of some well-deserved R and R. Filling in this week is his Blog editor...

You have to wonder about some lawyers who seem to find any reason to litigate, and a system that allows the practice of laying the entire blame for a problem on someone when they are only partly to blame.

But that's what happens in Pennsylvania under the current legal doctrine of "joint and several" liability," which allows trial lawyers to target companies just because they have "deep pockets."

A couple of years ago, the state House and Senate passed the Fair Share Act to modify joint and several, and prevent defendants in civil lawsuits from paying 100 percent of the damages even if they are only 1 percent responsible. The Fair Share Act was challenged in court -- with backing from Trial Lawyers -- and the court held that the way the act was passed procedurally was unconstitutional. No problem at all with the substance of the law.

The law was thrown out, and an attempt this spring to re-enact it was thwarted again when the governor caved to pressure -- from you-know-who -- and vetoed the measure. So, still no Fair Share Act.

Of course, all of the aforementioned information makes this next little tidbit all the more interesting: The Association of Trial Lawyers of America is asking its members to change the group's name. Seems they don't like the "Trial Lawyers" part anymore. They want to be called the American Association for Justice.

Hey, we're all for that! After all, if they're now more focused on justice rather than trials, we're sure they'll get on board with re-enacting the Fair Share Act in Pennsylvania and allow companies to be held responsible only for their share of liability.

Their new name says so, right?