Expert Evidence Standards

Lawyers pitch potential public nuisance lawsuits to government officials and others hoping to be hired on a contingency fee basis.

The Problem

Lawyers have expanded public nuisance legal theory such that merely selling an everyday product can create virtually unlimited liability, and they sue companies for allegedly causing various societal harms. Traditional public nuisances include a person’s use of land in a manner that creates local disturbances. Today’s public nuisance lawsuits have evolved far from the legal theory’s original intent, and now include: COVID-19, opioids, climate change, environmental and plastic cleanups, and e-cigarettes and vaping. Learn more about the expansion of public nuisance law.

ATRA’s Position

ATRA supports implementation of sunshine laws with regard to state and local governments’ hiring of outside contingency-fee attorneys as well as legislation that requires public nuisance lawsuits to be grounded in disputes over real property.

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Expert Evidence Standards News and Press

Explore ATRA's most recent press releases and blogs around Expert Evidence Standards

‘Junk Science Playbook’ Report Ties RFK Jr.’s HHS Agenda to Mass Tort Machine

A new report released today by the American Tort Reform Association pulls ...

Georgia Moves Off “Judicial Hellholes®” Rankings but Atlanta-Area Courts Land on “Watch List”

The American Tort Reform Foundation announced today that Georgia moved off...

Fraud, Nuclear Verdicts and Junk Science Push 8 Courts onto New “Judicial Hellholes®” List

The American Tort Reform Foundation named eight Judicial Hellholes® today ...

Search Resources

Search through all of ATRA's Amicus Briefs, Reports, and Other Resources around Expert Evidence Standards
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States
Status
Post Types
Date
Cottrell v. Alcon Laboratories
(3rd Cir., filed September 28, 2016): Arguing that the plaintiffs’ speculative claim that they might have paid less for a medication if defendan...
3rd Circuit
  • Court Ruled Against ATRA's Position iconCourt Ruled Against ATRA's Position
Eike v. Allergan
(7th Cir., filed October 18, 2016): Arguing that the plaintiffs’ speculative claim that they might have paid less for a medication if defendants...
7th Circuit
  • Court Ruled in Favor of ATRA's Position iconCourt Ruled in Favor of ATRA's Position
BNSF v. Tyrell
(US., filed October 28, 2016): Arguing that the Montana Supreme Court improperly applied the Daimler personal jurisdiction requirements, which state t...
SCOTUS
  • Court Granted Cert iconCourt Granted Cert
In re Zoloft Litigation
(3rd Cir., filed October 18, 2016): Arguing that an expert cannot premise a causation analysis on a single statistically-significant association when ...
3rd Circuit
  • Court Ruled in Favor of ATRA's Position iconCourt Ruled in Favor of ATRA's Position



The American Tort Reform Association is the nation’s first organization dedicated exclusively to reforming the civil justice system through education and legislative enactment.

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