The system works

To the editor:

Anti-consumer groups like the Pacific Research Institute and Alabama Voters Against Lawsuit Abuse, which are funded by big oil, drug, insurance and tobacco companies, are seeing their weak arguments for tipping the scales of justice in favor of rich CEOs and against citizens get weaker.

The ruling last week of a Washington, D.C. judge in favor of the dry cleaners in the now-famous "pants case" is proof positive that the American civil justice system works well as-is.

In addition, the plaintiff, D.C. Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson, was ordered by the judge in the case to pay the defendants' court costs in the outrageous case. Our civil justice system is designed to protect the rights of all parties, defendants included, and the judge's ruling in this case demonstrates how well the system works to weed-out frivolous lawsuits.

Anti-consumer groups like PRI and AVALA, who are the labor behind the CEO-led takeover of the courts, don't like that the judge's ruling in this case proves the civil justice system works for consumers who are in the right, no matter if they are bringing or defending a lawsuit. Will these same groups put as much energy and money in broadcasting the result as they did when the case was filed?

The overpaid CEOs of the billion-dollar corporations behind PRI, AVALA and other anti-consumer groups hate to see justice served, especially when it works against them. Is there a need for reform? Absolutely, it's called corp(orate) reform, not tort reform.

Bob Prince

President

Alabama Association-for Justice

Tuscaloosa