“Lawsuit abuse is costing your family $3500 per year” – this is the premise of ads from the US Chamber of Commerce being run on national cable stations. Well, the Chamber is basing their numbers on a Towers-Perrin Tillinghast analysis that examines the cost of ALL lawsuits, not just “abusive” ones. Is it the Chamber’s job to decide what “lawsuit abuse” is anyway?
Even the author of the study cited by the chamber says its ad is “misleading.” The fact is his study makes no attempt to specify which lawsuits are legitimate and which can be considered abusive. Furthermore, the study specifically warns against drawing any conclusions about the costs and benefits of the judicial system and even acknowledges that the benefits could outweigh the costs. The chamber ignores this warning. It also fails to note that the same study estimates the cost of all lawsuits at the lowest level in 10 years.
I especially enjoy the picture of a man stuffing money into a briefcase while the ad shows the words:
Trial Lawyers Exploiting our Courts
MAKING MILLIONS
The Chamber’s irresponsible and untruthful propaganda really is a disgusting display.
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