ATRA Sounds Alarm on Maryland's 'Lawsuit Inferno' in New Report

ATRA Sounds Alarm on Maryland’s ‘Lawsuit Inferno’ in New Report

Press Releases | July 31, 2024

Lawmakers Expand Liability as ‘Tort Tax’ Burdens Residents

Today, the American Tort Reform Association announced that the Maryland Senate is creating a “Lawsuit Inferno” in its new Legislative HeatCheck report, citing the upper chamber’s focus on liability expansion.

“Maryland faces a litigation wildfire due to the trial lawyer lobby’s stranglehold over state lawmakers, particularly those in the Senate,” Tiger Joyce, president of ATRA said. “Legislative leaders’ inability to stand up to the personal injury bar’s agenda is crippling businesses, jobs and access to affordable goods and services.”

ATRA says the most problematic liability-expanding measure passed this session was Senate Bill 452, which bans liability waivers at most recreational facilities across Maryland. This exposes a massive swath of businesses — from camps and fairs to agritourism and sporting events — to potential bankruptcy from costly lawsuits over minor incidents.

“We are deeply disappointed that Maryland lawmakers and Gov. Moore eliminated these reasonable liability protections,” Joyce said. “This new law puts family entertainment and recreation jobs at risk while inviting a litigation free-for-all against small businesses.”

Maryland residents already pay a $1,576 “tort tax” each year due to excessive tort costs, nearly 89,000 jobs are sapped from the state’s economy annually. These costs are likely to increase due to the legislature and the governor expanding liability in the state this year.

The Senate also advanced Senate Bill 538, which would have drastically increased limits on noneconomic damages in injury cases from $935,000 to $1.75 million — an 87% spike. While the House did not take a vote on the bill this year, its passage in the Senate exemplifies Maryland’s lawsuit crisis.

“Allowing such excessive awards for subjective damages like ‘pain and suffering’ inevitably leads to unpredictable ‘nuclear’ verdicts driven by emotion over facts,” Joyce said. “This bill represents an open invitation for runaway litigation that would result in higher costs for Maryland drivers, homeowners, and businesses. We find some encouragement, however, in the House’s refusal to entertain a vote on this bill.”

Maryland’s legal climate has landed the state on the American Tort Reform Foundation’s Judicial Hellholes® “Watch List” for years due to its lawsuit-friendly environment.

“Rather than reverse course, Annapolis lawmakers continue capitulating to the trial bar’s agenda by entertaining liability expansions like these,” Joyce said. “ATRA urges state leaders to finally pursue reasonable legal reforms that promote affordability and access to justice.”

ATRA’s Legislative HeatCheck report evaluates a select group of states’ progress — or lack thereof — in enacting meaningful tort reform measures during their most recent legislative sessions.

The Maryland Senate was named a “Lawsuit Inferno” alongside state lawmakers in Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire and New York. The full Legislative HeatCheck report is available at heatcheck.atra.org.