New ‘Judicial Hellholes’ Named
Courts in New Jersey and Nevada are the latest jurisdictions to descend into “judicial hellholes,” according to the American Tort Reform Foundation.
The newcomers are courts in Clark County, Nev., and Atlantic County, N.J., the National Law Journal reports. The controversial list of judicial hellholes, compiled partly based on anecdotal evidence and media reports, is expected to be released today.
Clark County made the list thanks to a Los Angeles Times investigation that found “a cottage industry” of construction defects litigation there and questionable links between judges and lawyers, the NLJ story says.
Atlantic County appears on the list because plaintiffs are finding it a hospitable place for mass tort claims against pharmaceutical companies.
But one notorious county—Madison County, Ill.—has been bumped off the list because of reforms by a new chief judge. It does, however, remain on a watch list.
