Elder Law

US Chamber Uses Justice System Itself While Blocking Justice Rights of Others

By Levin & Perconti

The American Association of Justice issued a new report today regarding an unfortunate example of hypocrisy when it comes to major interest groups interfering in the justice system.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent millions of dollars and focused immense resources on lobbying campaigns aimed at limiting regular consumers? access to the courthouse. The group has its own affiliate, the Institute for Legal Reform, which works every day to add barriers and restrictions to the right of individuals harmed by corporations to file lawsuits against those corporations.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti continually work for the opposite cause: to allow all victims the same balanced access to the nation?s justice system. We do not believe that there is anything wrong with allowing our truth-finding judicial process to play out. There is nothing to fear from allowing potential victims, no matter where they come from or how much money they have, to enjoy their day in court. In that way, the system truly creates a level playing field where single individuals can stand up to anyone and seek justice. It is that same process that allows a vulnerable nursing home senior who is abused by his caregivers to stand tall and seek redress against the abusive nursing home company that caused his suffering.

Groups like the U.S. Chamber have worked to limit the rights of victims in that way?working hard to bar the courtroom door. But a new AAJ report explains that the Chamber only likes to bar the door to regular individuals, because the organizations itself files hundreds of lawsuits each year to advance its own interests. Apparently the justice system is only fair to the Chamber when they are doing the suing.

The National Chamber Litigation Center, the part of the organization charged with filing lawsuits on behalf of the group, annually files over 130 suits. Nearly 2 times a week, the group is at it again using the court system to advance it goals?while at the same time claiming that regular individuals shouldn?t have fair access to that same court system.

To read more about this shameful example of unequal access to American Justice, check out the full AAJ report Here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 27, 2010 (boomark / email).