Some Wisconsin attorneys may find little to like in Governor Scott Walker’s special session of the legislature. It’s been pitched as a jobs agenda, but Wisconsin Association for Justice president Mike End is skeptical as far as bills dealing with the legal profession are concerned. “None of the bills will create one job,” End said. “And I don’t think there’s any way that anybody could claim that these bills will create any jobs at all.” End likens it to January’s session on job creation. “The only thing that came out of those bills is that the consumer who gets injured may be deprived of his or her right to recover compensation. These bills are exactly the same thing.”
End said he has the biggest problem with a bill that would entitle a business to collect interest at twelve percent added to verdicts in judgments against consumers. “Turn the tables and the consumer wins against the corporation, the consumer will be limited to the prime rate plus one percent,” he said. “So the corporation is entitled to twelve percent interest, the consumer is entitled to four and a quarter percent. Explain that one to me.”
Another proposed bill will make it much more difficult for people to collect from drug and medical device manufacturers. End said the bill would provide immunity for makers of products that have received FDA approval “We know that the FDA has often made mistakes, and they have granted to licenses to products, to drugs, that have ended up killing and maiming people. Under this bill, if it becomes law, those people would be out of luck.”
End said yet another bill would impact consumers who have relatively modest claims under “fee shifting” statutes, such as so called lemon laws. “Under the current law, the lawyer for the party, if the lawyer prevails at trial, is entitled to get actual attorney fees. This bill would limit the attorney fees to three times the value of the claim,” said End. “If the lawyer spent 2000 hours over the course of three years in achieving a victory, but the attorney fees end up being only three times the value of that claim, that client will have a hard time finding a lawyer. This is just going to force those people to go without a remedy.”