The American Tort Reform Association recently released its 2018-19 Judicial Hellholes report. While the report’s focus is to recognize some of the worst-ranking civil justice climates in the country, the report also highlights several “Points of Light,” including civil justice reform accomplishments in Wisconsin over the past year.

The report recognizes the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of a $750,000 limit on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases (Mayo v. Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, 2018 WI 78). WCJC had filed an amicus brief in the case, successfully arguing that the liability limit is constitutional.

The report also highlights civil justice reforms in AB 773 (signed into law as 2017 Wisconsin Act 235). Act 235 enacted several e-discovery and class action reforms to lower the costs of litigation for businesses, as well as groundbreaking provisions requiring transparency in third-party litigation funding.