by WorldTribune Staff, December 9, 2025 Real World News

Americans have gone on a “suing spree” that is costing the nation billions of dollars a year and millions of jobs, according to the American Tort Reform Foundation.

In its new report on “Judicial Hellholes,” the foundation notes that excessive court rulings result in a “hidden tort tax” on all Americans of $1,666 and costs 4.8 million jobs annually.

The report highlights the worst jurisdictions, where lawyers go to cash in on sympathetic judges and juries.

“These jurisdictions are trial lawyers’ laboratories where they test novel liability theories and concoct new ways to sue,” said Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association. “Personal injury lawyers push abusive lawsuits in Judicial Hellholes that drain resources, unfairly punish small businesses, and reduce access to justice for everyone.”

The foundation highlights what it has dubbed “nuclear verdicts,” which involve excessively large jury awards, typically $10 million or more, often reaching $100 million or more, in personal injury or wrongful death cases. The cases are often driven by plaintiff lawyer tactics, “social inflation,” and an anti-corporate sentiment among jurors.

The report’s top 8 “Judicial Hellholes”:

1. Los Angeles: The jurisdiction separated itself as the worst of the worst in 2025. It saw an eye-popping $1 billion nuclear verdict, fraud allegations exposing abusive litigation practices, and courts entertaining novel liability theories that expand defendants’ exposure. Small businesses remain frequent targets of predatory ADA lawsuits and other no-injury lawsuits, while ongoing attacks on arbitration threaten an essential tool for resolving disputes.

2. New York City: The “Fraudemic” is shining a spotlight on the extensive lawsuit abuse occurring in the city’s courts. The courts are prolific producers of nuclear verdicts and have adopted expansive theories of product liability for tech companies. No-injury lawsuits flood the system and the city remains a hotbed for asbestos litigation.

3. South Carolina asbestos litigation: The judge overseeing the court has created an international legal crisis through corporate takeovers and the inappropriate appointment of a receiver over international entities. The court is known for its relaxed causation standard and routine imposition of sanctions. The court has even increased jury verdicts when it feels the jury didn’t go far enough.

4. Louisiana coastal litigation: This year the first case in the never-ending coastal litigation went to trial and resulted in an astounding nine-figure nuclear verdict. Louisiana plaintiffs’ lawyers have cozied up to state leaders and the courts are filled with political bias.

5. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas: A RICO suit has raised allegations of fraud in Philly’s courts and the Complex Litigation Center is attracting new mass torts litigation nationwide. Nuclear verdicts have reached historic levels and courts allow forum shopping and expansive medical liability. The City remains a hotspot for asbestos litigation.

6. St. Louis: Out-of-town ADA litigation is targeting St. Louis small business, and the courts are prolific producers of nuclear verdicts. Judges allow junk science to fuel litigation and are throwing out jury verdicts that they disagree with.

7. Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties: This trio of counties is ground zero for baseless baby formula litigation based on junk science. The legislature opened the door to even more litigation tourism, attracting cases nationwide and no-injury lawsuits are filling the courts’ dockets. The counties are hot spots for asbestos litigation and nuclear verdicts are the norm.

8. King County and Washington Supreme Court: The state’s high court reinstated a nuclear verdict and opened the door to junk science. The courts allow law-shopping and expanded asbestos liability for businesses. King County is now home to novel climate change litigation and is leading the charge against oil and gas companies.

For several years, the foundation has shone a spotlight on state and federal courts that approve high payouts in lawsuits. They also point out courts that seem to encourage legal “tourism,” where lawyers go to win unusually big payments.

Support Free Press Foundation

  666, Lawsuit mania: Get rich quick schemes involving the courts said to cost every American $1, WorldTribune.com