OK, I promised a one-day moratorium on the WVU scandal and despite how hard it is to NOT write about it again today, I thought I’d give everyone a break.

The simple fact is that Garrison and now Manchin are living in la-la land if they think they can simply say “it’s time to move forward” and expect everyone to just say “OK” on this one.  But, I’ll save the article for tomorrow.  Although for our readers who don’t get the Morgantown Dominion-Post, holy cow, the article yesterday was in three inch bold headling “MIKE MUST GO!”  I can see why he spent yesterday in Charleston, there is blood in the streets.

Anyway, as promised a break from the action… 

 See the article below by Daily Mail business writer-extrodinaire George Hohmann.  Unfortunately, this stigma continues to stick with us and again the Legislature opted to pass on any significant reforms.

Enjoy!

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W.Va. again rated worst legal climate

by George Hohmann

Daily Mail Business Editor

A study funded by an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has concluded for the third straight year that West Virginia has the worst legal climate in the country.

As in past years, the finding is hotly disputed.

West Virginia ranks last among the 50 states, behind Louisiana and Mississippi, in an annual assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris Interactive, a national market research firm. The report was released today by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform.

Delaware ranked tops for the fifth consecutive year.

Lisa Rickard, president of the Institute for Legal Reform, said in a prepared statement, “While there is still more to do, Governor Manchin and the West Virginia Legislature have started taking steps to improve the state’s legal climate.” She noted several recent reforms, including the “slight improvement” to laws allowing out-of-state plaintiffs access to West Virginia courts and “efforts to rein in the attorney general’s misuse of funds from lawsuit settlements.  

“However, changing the law isn’t enough - states also need to make sure their courts correctly and reasonably apply the law,” Rickard said. “Unfortunately, West Virginia courts are viewed nationally as overly generous with other people’s money, with three of the top seven verdicts nationally in 2007 originating in West Virginia.”

The rankings are the result of a poll of how corporate attorneys view the state systems.

The American Association of Justice issued a statement charging that the study is part of an extreme corporate agenda aimed at destroying the civil justice system.

“The ’study’ is based on a survey of corporate defense lawyers from multi-million dollar corporations who are paid to avoid accountability for their misconduct and negligence,” the association said. “Nevertheless, U.S. Chamber touts this propaganda as fairly measuring the states’ legal systems. The facts tell a different story.”

The study contains “half-truths and outright lies,” the association said.

The West Virginia Association for Justice, formerly known as the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, has also regularly challenged the annual study’s findings. The association is made up of lawyers who represent people who file lawsuits.

Contact writer George Hohmann at busin…@dailymail.com or 348-4836.