• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
GROVER NORQUIST: Time To Take On The Trial Lawyer Lobby

GROVER NORQUIST: Time To Take On The Trial Lawyer Lobby

August 24, 2024
LARRY PROVOST: President Trump Stamps Out Calhoun’s Legacy Of Insurrection And Nullification

LARRY PROVOST: President Trump Stamps Out Calhoun’s Legacy Of Insurrection And Nullification

June 16, 2025
Trump Issues Ominous Warning To Iran

Trump Issues Ominous Warning To Iran

June 16, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: How Chinese Intel Infiltrated LA Mayor Karen Bass’ Camp

EXCLUSIVE: How Chinese Intel Infiltrated LA Mayor Karen Bass’ Camp

June 16, 2025
EXCLUSIVE — ‘Something For Every American’: Speaker Johnson Touts ‘America First’ Wins In Trump’s Megabill

EXCLUSIVE — ‘Something For Every American’: Speaker Johnson Touts ‘America First’ Wins In Trump’s Megabill

June 16, 2025
JD FOSTER: Senator Paul Is Mostly Right And A Little Wrong About The Big, Beautiful Bill

JD FOSTER: Senator Paul Is Mostly Right And A Little Wrong About The Big, Beautiful Bill

June 16, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: University Consultants Debated Creating ‘LGBTQ+ Church’ To Skirt Trump’s Orders

EXCLUSIVE: University Consultants Debated Creating ‘LGBTQ+ Church’ To Skirt Trump’s Orders

June 16, 2025
VIJAY JAYARAJ:  Big, Beautiful Coal Here For Many More Years Despite ‘Green’ Demonization

VIJAY JAYARAJ: Big, Beautiful Coal Here For Many More Years Despite ‘Green’ Demonization

June 16, 2025
California Demands Federal Tax Dollars For High-Speed Rail Boondoggle

California Demands Federal Tax Dollars For High-Speed Rail Boondoggle

June 16, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Senate GOP Has Plan To Fight Back Against Activist Judges

EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Senate GOP Has Plan To Fight Back Against Activist Judges

June 16, 2025
White Wisconsin Dairy Farmer Sues USDA For Holding Out On Axing Biden-Era DEI Programs

White Wisconsin Dairy Farmer Sues USDA For Holding Out On Axing Biden-Era DEI Programs

June 16, 2025
Israel Not Interested In Peace Talks With Iran, Netanyahu Says

Israel Not Interested In Peace Talks With Iran, Netanyahu Says

June 16, 2025
Trump Cans Biden’s Nuclear Regulator As Agency Faces Pro-Nuke Overhaul

Trump Cans Biden’s Nuclear Regulator As Agency Faces Pro-Nuke Overhaul

June 16, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home Op-Ed

GROVER NORQUIST: Time To Take On The Trial Lawyer Lobby

by Daily Caller News Foundation
August 24, 2024
in Op-Ed, Wire
247 5
0
GROVER NORQUIST: Time To Take On The Trial Lawyer Lobby
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Daily Caller News Foundation

Tort law consumes 2.1% of the U.S. economy.

Many of those billions of dollars are wasted, extorted and taken from those who have done no wrong to enrich well-paid trial lawyers who do not lose their jobs when they bankrupt a company or devastate a town.

Tort law is one of the rare cases in which the United States does worse than other nations. We lead the world in wasteful, unfair and expensive lawsuits.

It is getting worse, not better.

The new invasive species is called “third-party litigation funding” (TPLF). There, “investors” target a company or industry and they fund the lawsuit. They handpick the target (rich, vulnerable, unwilling, unable to defend itself) and invent the “crime.”

What do the investors get? A percentage of the take. The “victim” loses control of his or her company and is at the mercy of the financial greed of the “investors.”

And this lucrative bad idea is now famous worldwide. Many of those investing in suing American industry are not Americans. They are foreigners. Who? Good question.

They have written the laws to keep their names and financial interests secret. A secret witness is not allowed to attack you in American courts – you have the right to confront your accusers. But here, the prime movers are kept secret.​ Why? Who benefits?

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (or elsewhere, it is secret).

Since 2010, TPLF activity has exploded in popularity among progressive activists, foreign actors and Wall Street hedge-funds, although the reasons for their harassment of American businesses vary widely. An estimated $15.2 billion is currently invested in commercial litigation efforts.

Wealthy financiers funnel anywhere from $2.3 to $5 billion annually into TPLF campaigns, as do foreign firms that hold a vested interest in harvesting trade secrets from American companies through anonymous litigation.

The trial-lawyer grift machine takes money out of your wallet. The Institute for Legal Reform has found that tort law costs Americans $443 billion annually. That is the equivalent of $3,621 per household. Worse yet, rather than plaintiffs reaping the rewards of these settlements, trial lawyers and TPLF financiers absorb an estimated 88% of punitive damages. Trial lawyers and their anonymous paymasters reap a windfall from American families that pay the crippling “tort tax.”

State and federal lawmakers have begun to push back against the TPLF tidal wave.

In late 2022, 14 state attorneys general raised the alarm to U.S. AG Merrick Garland on the impacts of foreign TPLF activity to the American economy. Since then, Montana, Indiana and West Virginia have established rigorous standards for TPLF transparency, including mandatory disclosure requirements and prohibitions against trade secret harvesting. Kansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma are considering legislation for TPLF regulation as well.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) have introduced the “Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act,” a bill banning foreign actors from anonymous TPLF activity. House Oversight Chair Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky recently held a hearing that examined how TPLFs are funded by left-wing activists seeking to undermine the legal system.

Republicans can build on this great work by enacting a federal standard for TPLF disclosure. This is why lawmakers should support the Litigation Transparency Act of 2024, introduced by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. This bill would require an identity disclosure for any TPLF investor who would stand to profit from the outcome of a civil proceeding. Any agreements concerning the right to receive payment would also need to be produced before the court.

For far too long, anonymous TPLF investors have bled businesses dry, forcing hardworking Americans to pay the “tort tax.” By demanding accountability for predatory legal schemes, the Litigation Transparency Act of 2024 will restore a balance to the scales of justice.

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Featured Image: Screen Capture/CSPAN

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags: big-tent-ideasDCNFU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Daily Caller News Foundation

Daily Caller News Foundation

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th