The 2021-2022 Judicial Hellholes Report

In its recently released annual report, the ATRA identified 8 jurisdictions on its 2021 hellholes list – which, in order, include: (1) California (with the plaintiffs’ bar taking advantage of unique California laws like the Private Attorney General Act); (2) New York City (particularly regarding Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility claims and an activist attorney general battling climate change with energy companies), (3) Georgia; (4) Philadelphia, which fell from the number 1 spot last year (especially in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania), (5) Illinois (especially Cook, St. Clair, and Madison counties and regarding asbestos litigation and Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act class actions), (6) Louisiana (including deceptive lawsuit advertising practices and coastal litigation), (7) St. Louis, Missouri, and (8) South Carolina (particularly in asbestos litigation).

According to the ATRA’s analysis, these venues are less than optimal for corporate defendants and often attract plaintiffs’ attorneys, particularly for the filing of class action lawsuits.