Oklahoma Rural Association
You have likely read about tort reform. Why it’s needed from supporters, or why it’s bad from critics. Those opposed to tort reform like to say it’s all about big business or protecting insurance companies. That is wrong.
For a state like Oklahoma, with a heavy agriculture- based economy that sees its share of ups and down, it is important that we have a system that doesn’t favor frivolous lawsuits and those that bring them, but favors hardworking Oklahomans, many of whom are small business owners and cannot afford excessive litigation costs. If we are looking for examples, we can look to our neighboring states for proof.
A few years ago, Florida took steps to reform their culture of excessive litigation. Anywhere you drove in Florida, billboard attorneys had advertisements. Gov.
DeSantis and the state legislature took on the powerful lawyer lobby, and enacted reforms aimed at equaling the scales of justice away from the trial lawyers, and towards victims, families, and small businesses.
In Oklahoma, common sense reforms such as business focused courts, reigning in lawsuits funded by unscrupulous third parties and just limiting the scope of public nuisance lawsuits will go a long way in helping small business in our state and letting the rural economy run more smoothly. The last thing we want as a small business owner in rural Oklahoma is to be hit with a frivolous lawsuit.
The risk of being hit with a frivolous lawsuit that could bankrupt your entire operation is a big str essor for small businesses. Insurance exists to mitigate this, but over the past few years, the cost of insurance premiums has risen - an extra cost that is hard to justify for small businesses. Many other small business owners are in similar situations across our state. Most do not have access to huge amounts of capital and funding to front these rising costs. When a small business's bottom line is at risk, prices naturally rise. This is especially important in the agriculture sector as margins are about as slim as they can be for rural America.
Excessive litigation forces small businesses to charge more. Many times, businesses are forced to charge more to simply cover rising insurance premiums. Everyone - from the truckers that transport goods and services to the hardware and grocery stores that sell products, is affected. These costs then get passed along to the consumer. This places more stress on families across our state. The additional burden on families, especially those with f ixed incomes, is simply too much.
It is the hope of many rural small business owners and advocates like me that Gov. Stitt along with Oklahoma legislative leaders can pursue tort reform this session to further advance their commitment to lowering costs.