Harbin: Stopping ‘lawsuit abuse’ and other fabricated problems shouldn’t be top priority for SC Legislature

S.C. Chamber of Commerce Chair Mikee Johnson recently wrote that “stopping lawsuit abuse” should be the General Assembly’s “top priority” this legislative session. As someone who’s devoted my career to practicing law in our state’s civil justice system, I disagree.

The proposals Mr. Johnson pushed are solutions to problems that don’t exist — “problems” that were invented by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a national front group for global corporations such as ExxonMobil, Pfizer and Philip Morris, and “solutions” that would undermine the ability of hard-working South Carolinians to seek justice.

There’s no evidence to suggest our state is plagued by an abundance of frivolous lawsuits. For proof of this, look no further than South Carolina’s booming business climate. Exports and building permits are on the rise, unemployment rates are down, and just this month Mercedes-Benz announced a $500 million plant in Charleston that will bring 1,300 new jobs to the Palmetto State.

With ethics, domestic violence and our state’s crumbling infrastructure all needing to be addressed, it is irresponsible to say our state’s top priority should be passing laws that make it harder to hold big corporations accountable for causing injury or death.

Mr. Johnson championed a pair of bills he said are “necessary” to prevent landowners from being held liable for actions of trespassers on their property. That is simply outrageous. No one is pushing for such a broad new duty on landowners in South Carolina because it would be pointless to implement under state law.

Mr. Johnson also advocated for the “Court Transparency Act,” which would make it more difficult for state agencies to hire outside counsel. But the current process is fully transparent to the public and works just fine. These supposed reforms are really just an effort to help corporations accused of wrongdoing slither free from accountability.

The so-called “transparency” bill would also do great harm to certain cancer victims. For a half century, asbestos company executives knew their product was causing painful, fatal cancer and fought to cover it up. This legislation would allow those corporations to delay a lawsuit and drag out a case until after a victim dies — usually within one year of being diagnosed.

Rather than doing the bidding of big special-interest groups, I encourage lawmakers to concentrate on solving the problems that truly plague our state.

President, S.C. Association for Justice

Anderson

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Harbin: Stopping ‘lawsuit abuse’ and other fabricated problems shouldn’t be top priority for SC Legislature."