The 60 Second Update with

Governor Haley Barbour

2. Before the reforms you implemented, how bad was the situation and how did it impact life and business in Mississippi?

Mississippi had a bad reputation in national business circles as a place where employers were unfairly targeted with frivolous lawsuits.  Nearly every small business in Mississippi was one lawsuit away from bankruptcy.  Juries were handing down outrageous monetary awards and hard-working small business owners, who couldn’t fight back with legions of lawyers, were among the hardest hit.

Trial lawyers across the country viewed Mississippi as a playground, a place to bring weak cases to trial because they knew the state’s civil justice system tilted heavily toward plaintiffs. The state’s national reputation as the home of jackpot jury verdicts had a devastating effect on the state’s economy, not to mention healthcare. Businesses simply weren’t willing to risk locating in Mississippi, doctors were leaving the state almost as quickly as plaintiffs were coming in, and every small business was one lawsuit away from bankruptcy.

The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore described it this way in a May 10, 2008, piece: “ Mississippi's antibusiness reputation was so awful, Mr. Barbour said, that the CEOs of several Fortune 500 companies told him specifically that they wouldn't consider locating in the state unless the tort system was fixed.

For doctors, the situation was a little different – many who were inside the state were getting out as fast as they could. With 25% annual increases in malpractice premiums, many physicians simply couldn't survive if they stayed.

The outflux left some counties without a single obstetrician. In some cases, residents had to drive 100 miles to find a doctor."

 Question 3. Does this impact industries other than healthcare?