Corporations rule, and the American public may be at risk.
Washington, DC – President Burton LeBlanc, of the American Association for Justice, alongside other top justice advocates, testified this past November 7, 2013, in opposition of the proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The testimony, as presented before the Judicial Conference of the United States, outlined the concerns surrounding the changes to the rules of civil procedure, and the potential bar to corporate liability in personal injury cases.
“These changes would devastate Americans’ access to justice and rig the courts in favor of corporations that violate our rights,” said LeBlanc. “This will further stack the deck against American citizens and small businesses seeking accountability in court.”
The proposed changes would limit the rules of discovery, decrease the availability and length of depositions, and decrease the incentives to companies in the preservation of critical documents.
Once such example, a case against a nursing home and its owner, James Graff, required over 350 boxes of patient files, company records, and depositions, all of which were required to prove the instance of misconduct and improper care. If this case had been tried under the proposed rules, gathering the evidentiary documents would have been frustrating at best, and may have turned the case in favor of the defrauding party.
As LeBlanc argued, these changes would have a dramatic effect on taxpayers. Cases of government program fraud would become increasingly difficult to prove, and would frustrate judicial proceedings in the process.
“This will force cases to be decided before all the facts are found and brought to light,” added LeBlanc. “If Americans can’t seek justice in the courtroom, what safety information could corporations hide from the public? If no one is accountable, no one is safe.”
LeBlanc and the American Association for Justice continue to fight for the American people, giving everyone a fair chance against the most powerful corporations.
About Our Firm: We have offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Norfolk, VA along with an office in Elizabeth City, NC. Our team of personal injury attorneys publish and edit articles on three Legal Examiner sites as a pro bono service to the general public.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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