Frivolous lawsuits and the abuse of our courts continue to be a key driver of the problems plaguing our economy and health care system.  Too often, lawsuit abuse puts small companies out of business and raises health care costs for every day citizens.

Across the country, victims of lawsuit abuse and leaders of the legal reform movement are making their voices heard, telling the real life stories about the costs and consequences of lawsuit abuse. Project Lawsuit Abuse is an online initiative of the national Sick of Lawsuits campaign featuring news from the front lines of lawsuit abuse.

What We Believe:

We support a system that would compensate those who are injured without costly and time-consuming litigation while preventing our legal system from being hijacked by personal injury lawyers and run-away litigation.

We work to:

• Restore common sense and fairness to our legal system;
• Weed out abusive junk lawsuits and unclog our courts so legitimate claims can move through the system;
• Put more money in the hands of injured patients and less money in the pockets of personal injury lawyers;
• Create transparency around backroom deals between personal injury lawyers and state attorneys general who team-up to sue companies for fame and profit; and,
• Place more scrutiny on expert witness testimony so that the highest ethical and medical standards are upheld in our courtrooms and judges and juries can trust what they hear on the witness stand.

Sick of Lawsuits is a nonpartisan, grassroots campaign of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. We have more than 165,000 supporters across the country including doctors, health care professionals, small business owners, attorneys and people from every walk of life.

Contributors

Alabama

Skip Tucker has served as executive director of Alabama Voters Against Lawsuit Abuse since 1996. During his tenure with AVALA, Tucker has received national recognition for his dedication to educating the grassroots about the costs and consequences of lawsuit abuse. Prior to joining AVALA, Tucker was a political consultant and served as press secretary in three gubernatorial campaigns. He also served as deputy press secretary for Alabama Governor Jim Folsom and as editor and assistant publisher at the Jasper Daily Mountain Eagle. Born in the small town of Eldridge, AL, he now lives in Montgomery with his wife, Lissa and 5-year-old son, Jeb. Tucker majored in journalism at the University of Alabama.

California

Tom Scott, Executive Director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, has been working to fight lawsuit abuse in California for 14 years. Prior to joining CALA, Scott held various positions with Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, former State Senator John Seymour, former U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, and in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Scott currently serves as Chair for the City of Folsom Utility Commission, Chair of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce BIZPAC and Vice President of the State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Illinois

Travis Akin has served as Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch (I-LAW) Executive Director since 2007. He is a veteran of Illinois politics having run numerous campaigns throughout the state. Prior to joining I-LAW, Akin worked as a press secretary for the Illinois Senate Republicans. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and he later completed his master's degree at the University of Illinois at Springfield. He currently lives in Marion, IL with his Shelly and their three children.

Louisiana

Melissa Landry is Executive Director of Louisiana’s leading legal watchdog group, Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW). She brings to LLAW nearly a decade of public relations experience and an extensive background in strategic communications, marketing and media relations. A native of Louisiana, Landry began her career in the private sector where she developed and executed public relations strategies for a variety of clients, including trade associations, non-profit organizations and political campaigns. Landry also has extensive experience implementing large-scale, public sector media campaigns for the Governor’s Office and the Louisiana Recovery Authority. In her free time, Landry enjoys reading, running and swimming. She holds a BA in journalism from Louisiana State University.

Maryland

Todd Lamb is Executive Director, Maryland Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. He holds a degree in Political Science from California State University - Chico and lives in Annapolis with his wife and two children.

Texas

Jennifer Harris, spokesperson for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas, joined the CALA movement in 2011 and is the group's public voice for a civil justice system based on common sense and fairness. Jennifer is the owner of JWH Communications, a public affairs, social media and communications consulting firm, based in Austin, Texas.  She brings more than 15 years of media relations, communications, grassroots and political experience to CALA-Central Texas and to her clients at JWH Communications.  Jennifer has represented a wide range of industry sectors and issues, including health care, technology, telecommunications, energy, U.S./Mexico relations, trade and transportation.  Jennifer previously served on the Board of Directors of the Austin Sister Cities International, the Austin Area Texas Exes and First United Methodist Church. She resides in Austin with her husband and young son.

West Virginia

Richard Heath, Jr. has served as the Executive Director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (WV CALA), a non-profit watchdog group of more than 30,000 West Virginia families, since April of 2009. Born and raised in West Virginia, Richie previously served as WV CALA’s Field Director for five years, overseeing many of WV CALA’s important legal watchdog and public outreach programs. Prior to joining WV CALA, Richie practiced law in the area of labor and employment. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and the Wake Forest University School of Law.