[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 131 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10093-S10094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMEMORATION OF LAWSUIT ABUSE AWARENESS WEEK

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I recognize a growing 
group of concerned citizens in West Virginia working to educate the 
public about their concerns over the costs of what they refer to as 
``lawsuit abuse.''
  In many areas of West Virginia, local supporters of Citizens Against 
Lawsuit Abuse have given their time on a volunteer basis to speak out 
about an issue that has statewide and national implications. The costs 
of lawsuits can include higher costs for consumer products, higher 
medical expenses, higher taxes, and fewer jobs, due to lost business 
expansion and forgone product development. At the same time, the legal 
system must provide avenues for recourse and justice. Together, leaders 
and citizens must try to achieve consensus in ensuring that our system 
is balanced and fair to all.
  Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has a straightforward goal. They want 
to help the public prevent unnecessary lawsuits.
  When West Virginians see a problem, we work to make people aware of 
it, and we try to make it right. CALA members are citizens who believe 
they see harm to our society brought on by certain unnecessary lawsuits 
and excessive awards that can cripple a small business or strip an 
individual of his or her life savings. CALA supporters emphasize that 
they want to make sure that persons with a real need for the civil 
justice system have access to the courts. Public opinion surveys in our 
state have shown that a majority of responsible citizens want their 
legal system to be more fair, more effective, and more sensible, to 
serve everyone's interests.
  These nonprofit CALA groups have raised local funds to run 
educational media announcements and are speaking to local organizations 
and citizen groups across the State to raise public awareness of the 
issue that they call ``lawsuit abuse.''
  Supporters of CALA also encourage that citizens do their part by 
serving on juries when they are called. To help encourage the youth of 
West Virginia to become responsible citizens when they reach adulthood, 
CALA groups have offered scholarship grants to students through an 
essay contest on the subject of importance of jury service.
  While the local groups have thousands of supporters, there are few 
individuals who should be recognized for their ongoing leadership and 
for dedicating countless volunteer hours in the past year. These 
individuals are Cuz Blake of Bridgeport, chairman and founding member 
of CALA of Northern

[[Page S10094]]

West Virginia, and Robert Mauk of Huntington, chairman and founding 
member of CALA of Southern West Virginia. Many others have given their 
time and energy to these public watchdog groups as well, persons such 
as Sid Davis of Charleston who, despite having to take time off 
recently for health reasons, has returned to his volunteer position as 
an officer of CALA of Southern West Virginia.
  Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse groups have declared September 21 
through September 27, 1997, to be Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week in West 
Virginia. I commend all of the individuals who are involved in Citizens 
Against Lawsuit Abuse for their involvement in civic affairs and their 
efforts to promote constructive action in a policy area they care 
about.
  As someone who has been a leader for a balanced, responsible form of 
product liability reform, I continue to hope for the kind of education, 
dialogue, and consensus-building clearly needed to address problems in 
our legal system that hurt consumers, victims, and the private sector. 
I encourage CALA to continue raising these issues and promoting 
solutions that ensure justice and improve the legal system. West 
Virginia and the country as a whole need informed, educated, and 
dedicated citizens to help elected officials address serious issues and 
achieve proper reforms when necessary.

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