For decades, plaintiffs throughout the U.S. have been filing fewer tort lawsuits. According to recent news reports, about 10 out of every 1,000 Americans filed tort lawsuits in 1993. By 2015, the number was down to less than 2 in 1,000 Americans.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has declared the fundamental importance of appropriate service of process to the viability of a lawsuit.

In compromising on and even killing some proposed changes to the state’s tort laws, supporters say they have furnished proof they are not mindless puppets controlled by outside interest groups. But plans already are afoot to resurrect some of the tort proposals that did not make it through the Legislature this session.

The state Assembly approved on a voice vote Tuesday on a bill that would let doctors and other medical providers apologize or express fault for botched medical procedures without having to worry their words would be used against them in court.

It’s too bad for the Republicans who control the statehouse that tort reform seems to be far less of an issue of public concern than the economy.

Republican state senators shot down four amendments Democrats offered Tuesday to a bill that would place a $30 million cap on the contingency fees the state can pay to law firms.

The state Assembly voted 60-36 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would cap at $30 million the amount of contingency fees lawyers can collect for doing state work.

Two Wisconsin tort reform proposals received approvals from a legislative judiciary committee Thursday and one more or less died.

Lawmakers pushing for tort reform at the state Capitol paint a colorful picture of soaring attorney fees and malpractice lawsuits.

If tort-reform bills now before state legislators had been laws two years ago, Lindy Orlowski would be out about $60,000.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether federal law deregulating the trucking industry preempts state consumer protection and tort claims alleging the wrongful disposal of a towed vehicle.

After the first case involving a vaginal mesh product to go to trial ended in a $5.5 million verdict for a California woman, plaintiffs’ attorneys are optimistic about the ongoing litigation against four manufacturers of similar products.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Orlowski v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co. (2012 WI 21) that, like other personal injury cases, in those cases involving uninsured motorist coverage, the plaintiff is entitled to the full amount of past medical expenses, even those amounts that were written off by the medical providers as a result of a contractual agreement between the medical provider and health insurer.

Discovery disputes typically come to the forefront of most bad faith litigation.

Four bills that Republicans say will reduce the cost and number of lawsuits in the state passed the Minnesota House of Representatives last week.

The first two months of 2011 brought Wisconsin a new Legislature, a new governor and a wave of tort reform.

10-3506 G.G. v. Grindle

Tort reform laws passed earlier this year are starting to cause trouble for Milwaukee lawyer Lynn Laufenberg.

There may be times in litigation or pre-litigation settings where discussions between the attorneys or parties to a lawsuit that have similar interests in the litigation may claim a privilege as to the content of the conversations. The privilege is known in Wisconsin as the common interest privilege and is codified in Wis. Stat. § 905.03(2).

Today, more than ever, electronic media is pervasive and readily accessible. In fact, some technology analysts estimate around 92 percent of created data is now stored electronically.

2010AP1373 Kniess v. Lueder

Torts FTCA; medical malpractice; statute of limitations

Torts Nuisance; damages

Torts FTCA; armed services

Torts Corporations; individual liability

Torts Negligence; causation

Torts Negligence

Torts Governmental immunity

Torts Nuisance; trespass

Torts Abuse of process