Trial Lawyer Email Demonstrates Need for Tort Reform

OKLAHOMA CITY - State lawmakers on Tuesday  blasted an e-mail from an Oklahoma City law firm urging plaintiffs to file lawsuits prior to tort reform legislation becoming law in November. House and Senate leaders said the e-mail is proof trial attorneys fear the change will be effective in limiting frivolous lawsuits.

The email, sent from an attorney with the Merritt & Associates law firm last week, says “Danger! Tort reform legislation effective November 1. File your lawsuits now!” according to a statement from lawmakers.

The email proves the new law is a significant step toward cutting down on frivolous lawsuits while clearing the way for legitimate claims, according to House Speaker Chris Benge.

“This email, while very concerning, should serve as an example of why we passed tort reform,” said Benge, R-Tulsa, in a prepared statement. “We believe the law passed last session will have the effect of attracting businesses and creating jobs in our state.” 

For more than a decade, House and Senate Republicans have sought reforms to Oklahoma’s justice system, where frivolous lawsuits have increased health care costs and driven talented doctors out of our state because of high malpractice insurance rates

“My top priority when first elected to the State Senate eleven years ago was to enact real and meaningful lawsuit reform in Oklahoma,” said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, in the statement.  “The activists in the Trial Bar fought this reform tooth and nail, and some of them still can’t accept the new reality.

“Throughout the process of passing lawsuit reform, this particular law firm was Oklahoma’s Chicken Little, and now they are proclaiming that the sky will fall in November,” Coffee continued.  “In fact, the skies will open, and Oklahoma will open for business when HB 1603 goes into effect.”

Rep. Dan Sullivan, House author of this year’s lawsuit reform legislation, House Bill 1603, said the email also falsely claims joint and several liability is abolished by the bill.  The legislation limits joint and several liability to instances where a tortfeasor is more than 50 percent liable.

“The attorney who sent this email expressed deep opposition to change and tried to rally his colleagues to try to stop reform. Now that he was unsuccessful in defending the status quo, he is trying to encourage people to file lawsuits prior to the law taking effect whether they have merit or not,” said Sullivan, R-Tulsa. “This email is nothing but an opportunistic attempt to get lawsuits on the books, regardless of their merit, by lawyers who will go to any lengths to prey on vulnerable Oklahomans.”