January 11, 2010

The American Association of Justice sponsored a media briefing today to outline its 2010 legislative agenda. The headline on the news release, "2010 Dawning of New 'Decade of Corporate Accountability'."

Judging by President Anthony Tarricone's quote, the AAJ is still campaigning against the Bush Administration: "During the last decade, we saw a dismantling of regulations and our legal system for the benefit of big corporations and to the severe detriment of patients and consumers." More hyperbole follows. The goals highlighted:

• A restoration of notice pleadings, i.e., legislation to reverse the Iqbal and Twombly decisions.
  
• Passage of the Medical Device Safety Act to expand litigation against FDA-approved devices to state courts.
  
• Elimination of arbitration clauses in consumer contracts.
  
• "Protecting patients injured by medical negligence," or as we'd put it, no medical liability reform.
  
• Passage of the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act (S. 1606) to provide more effective procedures for bringing overseas companies into U.S. courts.

The only coverage we've seen of the event comes from the Blog of the Legal Times, which focuses on the arbitration angle, "Next Target for Plaintiffs Bar: Nursing Homes?"

UPDATE (Tuesday): Also covering the event was The Hill, "Trial bar tries to end 'forced arbitration'." The Chamber-backed Legal Newsline wrote, "Trial bar seeks to expand liability, end arbitration clauses." Posted by Carter Wood at 5:43 PM | TrackBack (0)