The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) has designated New York as a “Lawsuit Inferno” in its latest Legislative HeatCheck report, citing the state legislature’s ongoing efforts to expand liability.
“New York has cemented itself as a raging inferno of lawsuit abuse due to the trial bar’s stranglehold over lawmakers,” said Tiger Joyce, ATRA president. “Legislative leaders’ inability to stand up to the trial lawyers’ agenda is crippling the state’s civil justice system.”
A primary concern this session is Senate Bill S8485A/Assembly Bill A9232B, which aims to significantly increase damages available in wrongful death suits. The bill proposes eliminating limits on subjective noneconomic damages such as grief and loss of companionship, potentially leading to excessive awards driven by emotion rather than facts. This legislation has been vetoed twice before by Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul.
“We appreciate Gov. Hochul’s willingness to stand up to the trial bar and protect New Yorkers’ wallets from the devastating costs of liability expansion,” Joyce added. “Allowing unlimited damages for nebulous claims like ‘loss of nurturing’ inevitably leads to nuclear verdicts that increase costs across the board. This legislation perpetuates New York’s lawsuit abuse crisis and would make the state an outlier on wrongful death liability.”
ATRA is also monitoring several bills that could trigger a surge in litigation by creating new private rights of action, although these did not reach the Governor's desk this year. These include the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act (Senate Bill S795A/Assembly Bill A7138), 21st Century Antitrust Act (Senate Bill S6748B/Assembly Bill A10323), and the EMPIRE Act (Senate Bill S541B/Assembly Bill A9012), which mirrors California’s Private Attorneys General Act, enabling lawsuits against employers.
“This barrage of bills represents the pursuit of a litigation free-for-all that could bankrupt companies over minor violations while lining the pockets of a select few personal injury lawyers,” Joyce stated. “They exemplify New York’s embrace of profit motives over responsible policymaking.”
New York's legal climate ranks among the worst in the nation, recently named fourth-worst in the American Tort Reform Foundation’s annual Judicial Hellholes® reports. Either New York City or Albany has been included among those named Judicial Hellholes® for nearly 15 years.
Excessive tort costs impose a $2,319 "tort tax" on every New Yorker annually while removing more than 418,000 jobs from the state's economy.
“Rather than reverse course, Albany is doubling down by entertaining the trial bar’s liability-expanding agenda,” Joyce remarked. “State leaders must instead work together to seek reasonable legal reforms that promote affordability and access to justice.”
The report also highlights how trial lawyers influence through campaign contributions and advertising aimed at soliciting more clients. Since 2017, top plaintiffs' firm donors have funneled over $4.7 million into New York political campaigns. In 2023 alone, New York trial lawyers spent $97 million on local legal services ads — including a significant increase in outdoor advertising compared to 2019 levels.
“This incestuous flow of money between the personal injury bar and elected officials, combined with a blitz of often misleading ads, raises ethics concerns and exemplifies trial lawyers’ lack of transparency,” Joyce said.
ATRA's Legislative HeatCheck report evaluates selected states' progress or lack thereof in enacting meaningful tort reform measures during their most recent legislative sessions.
New York was named a “Lawsuit Inferno” alongside Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, and New Hampshire lawmakers. The full Legislative HeatCheck report is available at heatcheck.atra.org.