At the end of November, the Accredited Snow Contractors Association (ASCA) announce its support of House Bill 966, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (LARA).  This act is in the Subcommittee of the Constitution with the U.S House of Representatives.  ASCA initiated contact with the subcommittee through its activities with that American Tort Reform Association (ATRA). 

The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act is a one-page act that would amend an 1993 act referred to as Rule 11. Opponents have labeled Rule 11  toothless due to the fact that when a frivolous claim is filed is:

• Allows judges to refuse to sanction a violating lawyer;
• Substantially reduced the likelihood that a sanction would be to make the plaintiff's lawyer pay a defendant's needless legal expenses engendered by the frivolous claim; and
• Provides a 21-day "safe harbor" that gives the plaintiff a free pass to withdraw frivolous pleadings without sanction. The plaintiff's lawyer can simply change the words of the pleading, file it again, and so it goes on.

The changes allow plaintiffs' lawyers to force those targeted to settle cases for amounts just under the expected cost of defending against the claim. Insurers settle and small business pay more for insurance.  Does this sound familiar?
LARA will help rein in frivolous lawsuits by:

• Restoring mandatory sanctions on attorneys, law firms, or parties who file frivolous lawsuits;
• Abolishing the "safe harbor" provision that allows parties and their attorneys to avoid sanctions by withdrawing a suit within 21 days after a motion for sanctions has been filed;
• Permitting monetary sanctions, including reimbursement of reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs in connection with frivolous lawsuits;
• Restoring the opportunity for sanctions for abuses of the discovery process (the process by which lawyers on each side of a case request information from the other side prior to trial); and
• Extending Rule 11's provisions preventing frivolous lawsuits to apply to state cases in which a state judge finds the case affects interstate commerce by threatening jobs and economic losses to other states.

You can certainly see the positive impact this bill will have on our industry.

On Dec. 23, just before the year-end holidays, ASCA delivered a report to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution detailing the impact frivolous lawsuits have on the professional snow and ice management industry.

This report was a combined effort of our Government Affairs Committee, the Snow Magazine and ASCA staffs, and a number of snow and ice management professionals who completed surveys and shared their stories of frivolous slip-and-fall claims brought against them.

We provided a detailed look into the professional snow and ice management industry, the financial impact these lawsuits are having on our industry, and the real examples of frivolous lawsuits brought against professional snow and ice managers. 

We expect LARA to move from the Subcommittee to floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in the next 60 days for debate where sources tell us it has a good chance of passing.  From there it would go to the Senate, where it will face greater scrutiny.  We have made clear our offer to testify in support of this bill in both of these debates. 

We will continue to keep you abreast of LARA's progress.

We would be happy to share this report with anyone in our industry, but have not attached it here due to the fact that it has not been publicly discussed on Capitol Hill yet.

If you are interested in seeing the report, please call me directly or send me an e-mail at kgilbride@ascaonline.org.