Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's just talk a little about Colorado.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
So there are a lot of things been going on
in the state of Colorado for a while. The overarching picture,
of course, is one party control. And it's a party that,
and I will put this gently, tends to be somewhat
skeptical of business, not very fond of profits, and with
a very cozy relationship with certain organizations that tend to
(00:22):
own and control them, such as teachers' unions and trial lawyers.
And when you get people like that in charge of everything,
what you end up with is a state that starts
developing policies that make things worse for a lot of people,
worse for businesses, for example, high taxes, more regulation. And
now let's talk about the trial lawyers a little bit.
(00:46):
There was an interesting piece in the Denver Gazette entitled
and this is actually it's not an article, it's an editorial.
Lawsuit friendly Colorado gets noticed. So rather than keeping my
guests just sitting there for longer, let's bring him onto
the show. Tiger Joyce is president of the American Tort
(01:06):
Reform Association, and one of the things they do is
ranked states by how likely you are to be, you know,
to haven't lawsuit generated against you in a particular state
and Colorado is not doing that.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Great, Hey Tiger, welcome to KOA.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Hi Ross, thanks very much, Thank you for having me
on today.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So just elaborate a little.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Let's follow up on how I badly attempted to introduce
the topic.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, no, I think you actually did a pretty good job.
You know. I think one of the things that we
at the American form Association ATRA do is to highlight
and really put as part a spotlight as we possibly can,
and your you and your listeners are helping us with this,
is that the legislative process is vital to how the
(01:53):
civil justice system works. And you know, let's face it,
we all may need you know, if you have an
injury or something happened. It should exist to resolve disputes.
It should take care of things quickly and fairly, that
that respects the interests of both sides. But I think
what we have seen in too many states, Colorado being
one of them, UH, that that the legislature seems to
(02:15):
be expanding opportunities UH to sue businesses for the most part,
whether it's a legislation dealing with the states antidiscrimination Act. Uh,
you know, also the waiting hour laws. Uh, you know,
which are obviously important. But but our point is that
that the excesses and when you just continue to add
(02:40):
potential liability, you create incentives for more litigation and those
ultimately are costs that are passed on to consumers. And
as our report highlights, uh, it's fairly it is a
costly endeavor for the citizens in Colorado.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
The the Paraman firm which does a nationwide analysis of
the costs of lawsuit abuse. From the excesses of lawsuits,
you know, cost the average family in Colorado, a family
of four nearly eight thousand dollars that comes out of
your pocket. You may not actually see it because it
never gets there. And for the state as a whole,
(03:19):
it has an impact on jobs and the estimate is
that annually about one hundred thousand jobs are not created.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, so digg in on that a little bit for
us when you when you and this is in that
that gazette editorial, they talk about a two thousand dollars
a year per person quote unquote torte tax.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So what exactly is what exactly is that?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well, the analysis looks at at what the what the
system would cost if it were reformed, and now that's
something that people can disagree about. But using some of
the types of reforms that that my organization and favors
would reduce costs UH and and would have a positive
(04:06):
impact for businesses UH and ultimately for job creation and consumers.
But that probably the most important takeaway item ross I
would say for your listeners is I think there's an
easy tendency to think of litigation as for lawyers and
judges and professors and politicians. The truth is this is
(04:28):
a vital aspect of our of our day to day life,
whether you know it or not. And the fact is
that we all have an interest in this. The excesses
that this report highlights reflects the fact that that yes,
you can continue to expand liability. And I think the
Ours as Actors report shows UH there were forty five
(04:51):
bills introduced UH in the legislature in Colorado this past
year that sought to expand liability. UH. That's a pretty
pretty significant number. But ultimately it's the consumer that pays.
Businesses pass on. Either businesses can't succeed or they can't
can't perform and they and they go out of business
or they pass on their their excessive costs uh to consumers,
(05:16):
So it ultimately really does come out of our pockets
as consumers. And that's why dealing with and addressing this,
it's just very important for anybody listening to to recognize
that these are not just you know, academic legal matters.
These really do affect everybody as individuals and as consumers.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
We're talking with Tiger Joyce, he as president of the
American Tort Reform Association. In the website at r A
dot org. So Etra at r A dot org. Tiger,
I got literally about about a minute here. So we
live in a state that is reliably blue right now.
Every bit is blue as California, Illinois, Connecticut, and I
(06:01):
don't see that changing anytime soon. And the Democrats who
pass these things pass them both because they have very
little faith in their own human beings, so they think
everybody should, you know, be offended and sue everybody for everything,
and also because the trial lawyers are huge donors to
the Democratic Party. So I guess my question, without wanting
(06:22):
to sound too fatalistic, is is there any reason to
think this is going to get any better in Colorado?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Well, I think that that it starts with understanding what
the problems are, and that's part a big part of
what we at AFTER are doing. There are we you know,
there is the Colorado civill Justice League, very an outstanding organization.
We work with some excellent lawyers in the state. But
really from our perspective, it begins with, you know, there
(06:49):
is a political element to this, but it's understanding that
that what the legislature is doing and when there are
excesses coming from the courts, that they're should be responses,
respectful and appropriate responses. But nevertheless, it begins with a
broad based understanding among businesses, certainly among businesses, but also
(07:12):
among voters that these issues are important and they have
they really should be demanding of their elected officials that
they address these matters and certainly or at the very least,
that they understand that addressing lawsuit abuses of priority.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The website is ATTRA dot org a t r A
dot org for the American to Reform Association. Tiger Joyce
as the president, thanks for your time this morning, Tiger,
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Ross, thank you, Thank you to you and your listeners.
Let's just talk a little about Colorado.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
So there are a lot of things been going on
in the state of Colorado for a while. The overarching picture,
of course, is one party control. And it's a party that,
and I will put this gently, tends to be somewhat
skeptical of business, not very fond of profits, and with
a very cozy relationship with certain organizations that tend to
(00:22):
own and control them, such as teachers' unions and trial lawyers.
And when you get people like that in charge of everything,
what you end up with is a state that starts
developing policies that make things worse for a lot of people,
worse for businesses, for example, high taxes, more regulation. And
now let's talk about the trial lawyers a little bit.
(00:46):
There was an interesting piece in the Denver Gazette entitled
and this is actually it's not an article, it's an editorial.
Lawsuit friendly Colorado gets noticed. So rather than keeping my
guests just sitting there for longer, let's bring him onto
the show. Tiger Joyce is president of the American Tort
(01:06):
Reform Association, and one of the things they do is
ranked states by how likely you are to be, you know,
to haven't lawsuit generated against you in a particular state
and Colorado is not doing that.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Great, Hey Tiger, welcome to KOA.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Hi Ross, thanks very much, Thank you for having me
on today.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So just elaborate a little.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Let's follow up on how I badly attempted to introduce
the topic.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well, no, I think you actually did a pretty good job.
You know. I think one of the things that we
at the American form Association ATRA do is to highlight
and really put as part a spotlight as we possibly can,
and your you and your listeners are helping us with this,
is that the legislative process is vital to how the
(01:53):
civil justice system works. And you know, let's face it,
we all may need you know, if you have an
injury or something happened. It should exist to resolve disputes.
It should take care of things quickly and fairly, that
that respects the interests of both sides. But I think
what we have seen in too many states, Colorado being
one of them, UH, that that the legislature seems to
(02:15):
be expanding opportunities UH to sue businesses for the most part,
whether it's a legislation dealing with the states antidiscrimination Act. Uh,
you know, also the waiting hour laws. Uh, you know,
which are obviously important. But but our point is that
that the excesses and when you just continue to add
(02:40):
potential liability, you create incentives for more litigation and those
ultimately are costs that are passed on to consumers. And
as our report highlights, uh, it's fairly it is a
costly endeavor for the citizens in Colorado.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
The the Paraman firm which does a nationwide analysis of
the costs of lawsuit abuse. From the excesses of lawsuits,
you know, cost the average family in Colorado, a family
of four nearly eight thousand dollars that comes out of
your pocket. You may not actually see it because it
never gets there. And for the state as a whole,
(03:19):
it has an impact on jobs and the estimate is
that annually about one hundred thousand jobs are not created.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, so digg in on that a little bit for
us when you when you and this is in that
that gazette editorial, they talk about a two thousand dollars
a year per person quote unquote torte tax.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So what exactly is what exactly is that?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well, the analysis looks at at what the what the
system would cost if it were reformed, and now that's
something that people can disagree about. But using some of
the types of reforms that that my organization and favors
would reduce costs UH and and would have a positive
(04:06):
impact for businesses UH and ultimately for job creation and consumers.
But that probably the most important takeaway item ross I
would say for your listeners is I think there's an
easy tendency to think of litigation as for lawyers and
judges and professors and politicians. The truth is this is
(04:28):
a vital aspect of our of our day to day life,
whether you know it or not. And the fact is
that we all have an interest in this. The excesses
that this report highlights reflects the fact that that yes,
you can continue to expand liability. And I think the
Ours as Actors report shows UH there were forty five
(04:51):
bills introduced UH in the legislature in Colorado this past
year that sought to expand liability. UH. That's a pretty
pretty significant number. But ultimately it's the consumer that pays.
Businesses pass on. Either businesses can't succeed or they can't
can't perform and they and they go out of business
or they pass on their their excessive costs uh to consumers,
(05:16):
So it ultimately really does come out of our pockets
as consumers. And that's why dealing with and addressing this,
it's just very important for anybody listening to to recognize
that these are not just you know, academic legal matters.
These really do affect everybody as individuals and as consumers.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
We're talking with Tiger Joyce, he as president of the
American Tort Reform Association. In the website at r A
dot org. So Etra at r A dot org. Tiger,
I got literally about about a minute here. So we
live in a state that is reliably blue right now.
Every bit is blue as California, Illinois, Connecticut, and I
(06:01):
don't see that changing anytime soon. And the Democrats who
pass these things pass them both because they have very
little faith in their own human beings, so they think
everybody should, you know, be offended and sue everybody for everything,
and also because the trial lawyers are huge donors to
the Democratic Party. So I guess my question, without wanting
(06:22):
to sound too fatalistic, is is there any reason to
think this is going to get any better in Colorado?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Well, I think that that it starts with understanding what
the problems are, and that's part a big part of
what we at AFTER are doing. There are we you know,
there is the Colorado civill Justice League, very an outstanding organization.
We work with some excellent lawyers in the state. But
really from our perspective, it begins with, you know, there
(06:49):
is a political element to this, but it's understanding that
that what the legislature is doing and when there are
excesses coming from the courts, that they're should be responses,
respectful and appropriate responses. But nevertheless, it begins with a
broad based understanding among businesses, certainly among businesses, but also
(07:12):
among voters that these issues are important and they have
they really should be demanding of their elected officials that
they address these matters and certainly or at the very least,
that they understand that addressing lawsuit abuses of priority.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The website is ATTRA dot org a t r A
dot org for the American to Reform Association. Tiger Joyce
as the president, thanks for your time this morning, Tiger,
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Ross, thank you, Thank you to you and your listeners.
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