June 06, 2007

Although the Colorado Civil Justice League and its allies managed to stop several adverse bills and got others amended, it was still a tough year for liability reformers in the state legislature:

With no less than five separate plaintiff attorney groups actively lobbying at the Colorado Capitol for expanded business liability, this was in many ways the "Year of the Trial Lawyer."

The trial lawyers "invested" over one million dollars in political spending during the last election, and that investment is paying off. Legislators repeatedly voted to weaken the limits on lawsuit abuse that have made Colorado a national leader, making it easier and financially more attractive to sue Colorado's employers and businesses....

With so many plaintiff lawyer groups lined up on the side of expanding liability - workers compensation lawyers, construction defect lawyers, false claims lawyers, employment-law plaintiff lawyers and, of course, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association itself - it was not a good year for lawsuit sanity.