Americans Slammed with $1,561 Hidden ‘Tort Tax,’ 2024-2025 Judicial Hellholes® Report Highlights Economic Impacts of Lawsuit Abuse.
WASHINGTON – The American Tort Reform Foundation released its 2024-2025 “Judicial Hellholes®” report, identifying and exposing the nation’s most problematic courts — where lawsuit abuse is the norm, and fairness and justice take a backseat.
This year’s report highlights the explosion of nuclear verdicts® and the persistent use of junk science in Judicial Hellholes’® courtrooms across the country, threatening the integrity of the civil justice system and imposing significant economic costs on all Americans.
Courts in Pennsylvania remain the nation’s worst but are joined in the Top 3 by New York City, whose courts are embroiled in a “fraudemic,” and South Carolina, where one judge’s oversight of the state’s asbestos docket grows increasingly controversial. This year’s Judicial Hellholes® also include a new litigation hotspot, King County, Washington. Amid various concerns, the report calls out King County’s courts for allowing junk science evidence in chemical exposure cases.
The 2024-2025 Judicial Hellholes® rankings are:
- The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- New York City
- South Carolina Asbestos Litigation
- Georgia
- California
- Cook County, Illinois
- St. Louis
- The Michigan Supreme Court
- King County, Washington
- Louisiana
“Our Judicial Hellholes® report isn’t just about rankings or naming names — it’s about accountability,” American Tort Reform Association president Tiger Joyce said. “This report serves as a necessary watchdog and provides all citizens a stark warning about the issues our civil justice system faces today. Major concerns like the proliferation of nuclear verdicts® and judges’ acceptance of questionable scientific evidence in these jurisdictions are not just legal issues – they burden the economy with excessive costs that are ultimately paid by all consumers.”
Data on the economic impacts of excessive tort costs in the U.S. reveals that each American pays a hidden “tort tax” of $1,561 each year, or $6,244 every year for a family of four.
These figures represent a nearly 20% increase in just two years, far outpacing inflation. Excessive tort costs further lead to a loss of roughly 4.8 million jobs across the country each year, amounting to more than $330 billion lost in personal wages annually.
“Excessive litigation obstructs economic growth, stifles innovation and drives away businesses,” Joyce said. “By exposing lawsuit abuse in Judicial Hellholes®, we can hold accountable judges, elected officials, and unscrupulous trial lawyers who take advantage of the system for their own personal profit.”
Key findings from the report include:
- Nuclear verdicts® increase in prevalence, with multi-million and even billion-dollar awards becoming the norm in Judicial Hellholes®.
- Junk science plagues courtrooms, particularly in asbestos and talc cases, leading to unjustified verdicts.
- Baby formula lawsuits based on junk science evidence emerge this year, threatening to undermine established medical science and potentially harm premature infants who rely on these life-sustaining products.
This year’s report features “Closer Look” sections examining emerging national litigation trends in baby formula and plastics recycling, as well as the impact of third-party litigation financing on lawsuit abuse.
The report also includes a Watch List, Dishonorable Mentions, and Points of Light, highlighting both concerning trends and positive developments in civil justice systems across the nation.
“It’s crucial for everyone to hear and understand the real detriments of lawsuit abuse,” Joyce said. “Trial lawyers might promise quick cash or a seemingly simple solution to complex public policy problems with their ‘sue now, ask questions later’ attitudes, but many take advantage of individuals in vulnerable situations. We all want to find solutions and preserve the integrity of our legal system – but endless litigation won’t bring real change.”
ATRF’s full 2024-2025 Judicial Hellholes® report is available now at JudicialHellholes.org.
Additional Resources
- Judicial Hellholes® Fact Sheet
- Judicial Hellholes® 2024-2025 Rankings Graphic
- Judicial Hellholes® 2024-2025 General Promotional Graphic
- Judicial Hellholes® 2024-2025 General Promotional Video
About Judicial Hellholes®
Judicial Hellholes® is a program of the American Tort Reform Foundation and was created in 2002. Judicial Hellholes® documents, in annually published reports and a year-round blog, various abuses within the civil justice system, focusing primarily on jurisdictions where courts are radically out of balance.
About the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF)
ATRF is a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, founded in 1997. The primary purpose of the Foundation is to educate the general public about how the American civil justice system operates; the role of tort law in the civil justice system; and the impact of tort law on the private, public and business sectors of society. It is a sister organization of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA).
About the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA)
Founded in 1986, ATRA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and is the nation’s first organization dedicated exclusively to reforming the civil justice system through education and legislative enactment. ATRA acts as a nationwide network of state-based liability reform coalitions backed by 142,000 grassroots supporters. ATRA works to bring greater fairness, predictability and efficiency to America’s civil justice system. Those efforts have resulted in the enactment of state and federal laws that make the system fairer for everyone.
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