Oklahoma among "moderate states" in lawsuit liability

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A national survey of insurance company and public corporation lawyers ranks Oklahoma's civil justice system as 33rd among the states.<br/><br/>The survey also found Oklahoma is

Monday, April 3rd 2006, 3:36 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A national survey of insurance company and public corporation lawyers ranks Oklahoma's civil justice system as 33rd among the states.

The survey also found Oklahoma is judged to be better than some nearby state's that restrict the size of damage awards in lawsuits.

The survey by the US Chamber of Commerce ranks Oklahoma as one of 18 states having a "moderate" civil justice system.

Three of the five states bordering Oklahoma are in the "worst legal systems in America" category.

One of those states is Texas even though it has a so-called "hard cap" on pain-and-suffering damages, something that supporters of plans to limit lawsuit liability want in Oklahoma.

Republican state House Speaker Todd Hiett has made lawsuit change his top priority and Republican Representative Fred Morgan has argued lawsuits are "out of control" in Oklahoma.

A bill to change the state's lawsuit system is to be debated in the state Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.