Washington, D.C.--Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a tort reform amendment to their health care bill, arguing with special passion that limits on legal fees would victimize trial lawyers.Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), imploring his colleagues to consider "the face of legal reform victims," held up two photos of personal injury attorneys. One, protected by the current legal regime, stood proudly in a tailored suit in front of his BMW. The other, the purported victim of legal reform whom Hoyer described as "stripped of his dignity at exclusive cocktail parties," stood forelornly in an off-the-rack suit in front of a more modest mid-range Ford model.
"Our precious trial lawyers are a uniquely Democratic institution, and their way of high-life deserves protection," said Hoyer. "Lawyers are members of the only profession that, for a mere $30 filing fee, can force anyone they sue, for any reason, to spend thousands fo dollars to defend themselves against even frivolous claims, and trial lawyers use that leverage to extort large legal settlements, including massive fees, which they contribute virtually exclusively to Democrats."
Members of Congress on the majority side of the aisle stood up and cheered, many of them with tears in their eyes, as the legal reform amendment was defeated on a party-line vote.
"Trial lawyers may be parasites," said one Democrat. "But even the lowliest amongst us must be protected, as they serve an essential political role in the U.S. legal environment."
Associated article: legal reform amendment; trial lawyer charts
