States with greater pro-plaintiff laws will attract the bulk of lawsuits and class action lawsuits. A patchwork of statutory and case law will also result in uneven verdicts and a probable loss of industry productivity, as businesses are forced to defend or settle ever-increasing onerous and frivolous lawsuits. Small states most likely will set the liability standard for larger states. This tail waging the dog scenario undoubtedly will distort our civil justice system. Some states are attempting to make it more difficult for plaintiffs to recover.
Proposals exist to provide qualified immunity while others completely bars punitive damages.
These proposals go far beyond the approach taken in the Judiciary and Commerce Committee's bills of setting reasonable limits on punitive damages. Other states may spur the growth of Y2K litigation by providing for recovery without any showing of fault. A variety of different and sometimes conflicting liability and damage rules create tremendous uncertainty for consumers and businesses. If we want to encourage responsible behavior and expeditious correction of a problem that is so nationally pervasive, we should impose a reasonable, uniform Federal solution that substantially restates tried and true principles of contract and tort law. If there is an example for the need for national uniformity in rules, this is it.