[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF LAWSUIT ABUSE AWARENESS WEEK: SEPTEMBER 30--OCTOBER 
                                4, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR.

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 8, 2002

  Mr. EHRLICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Maryland Citizens 
Against Lawsuit Abuse, MDCALA, and to congratulate them on their 
efforts to raise public awareness about frivolous litigation and the 
need for personal responsibility during the recent Lawsuit Abuse 
Awareness Week.
  MDCALA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal watchdog organization 
dedicated to improving the civil justice system. Over the last 7 years, 
MDCALA has worked to educate Marylanders about the cost of frivolous 
litigation. With more than 10,000 supporters statewide, MDCALA 
emphasizes the negative consequences that lawsuit abuse has on the 
public.
  Maryland is home to many large corporations and family businesses. 
Yet, the constant fear of lawsuits threatens the economic vitality of 
our State. Small businesses simply cannot afford one frivolous lawsuit. 
In order to compensate for potential legal bills, businesses are forced 
to raise prices to protect their bottom line. Lawsuit abuse, therefore, 
results in higher prices, increased medical expenses and loss of 
business growth.
  As a former member of the Maryland General Assembly, I worked hard to 
reform our legal system at the State level. During my tenure in 
Congress, I have supported efforts with respect to product liability 
reform, securities litigation reform, and reform of the federal 
Superfund program. More importantly, I sponsored legislation that has 
helped reduce, in my view, frivolous class action lawsuits brought 
against mortgage brokers.
  Legal reform is a very complex issue. The legal system must function 
to provide justice to every American. This does not mean, however, that 
the status quo is necessarily perfect. When lawsuits and the courts are 
used in excess or to the detriment of innocent parties, the system 
should be reviewed and reformed if possible.
  For their efforts, let me acknowledge MDCALA Chairman, the Honorable 
Phillip D. Bissett; Board of Directors--Joseph Brown, Jack Doll, Janna 
Naylor, Vikki Nelson, Gary Prince, the Honorable Joseph Sachs, Dr. 
Michael Saylor, and the Honorable Michael Wagner; and Executive 
Director Nancy H. Hill.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I remind our citizens that frivolous 
lawsuits--nationwide--clog our courts and prevent access to legitimate 
litigation. We must work together to implement common sense reform in 
order to restore fairness and justice to our legal system. I commend 
these citizens, and all involved in this worthwhile effort, for their 
dedication and commitment to public awareness on the serious issues 
associated with lawsuit abuse.

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