President Bush's signature Friday on federal legislation aimed at reducing the number of class-action lawsuits capped what has been a good week both nationally and in this state for much-needed progress on tort reform.

Both the president and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have made curbing the high cost of litigation to the nation and state's businesses a priority of their administrations, as have a number of other governors across the nation. Business interests in South Carolina have argued the state is out of the national mainstream in terms of rules governing civil suits for damages and separate actions in both chambers this week said lawmakers are listening. Nationally, it is argued that the high cost of lawsuits to businesses have made them less competitive internationally.

The most widely recognized national abuse has been the increase of what are known as class-action lawsuits that often involve long lists of plaintiffs from across the country targeting large businesses and corporations. They have become notorious for their large payouts to lawyers and token payments to clients.

The bill signed by the president aims at addressing the class-action problem by bringing a halt to what's known nationally as "forum shopping," which translates into a search for a state court that has the reputation for bringing in the highest verdicts. According to The Associated Press, the legislation would allow class-action suits to be heard in state courts "only if the primary defendant and more than one-third of the plaintiffs are from the same state. But if fewer than one-third of the plaintiffs are from the same state as the primary defendant, and more than $5 million is at stake, the case would go to federal court." According to USA Today, during the signing ceremony, the president called the legislation "a practical way to begin to restore common sense and balance" to the legal system.

In terms of class-action suits, studies have shown the system decidedly askew. An article in The Wall Street Journal two years ago by Jim Copeland, director of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Legal Policy, cited the "explosion" of class-action lawsuits as a key factor in the increase in tort costs. That article stated that between 1997 and 2000, "American corporations reported a 300 percent increase in federal class actions and a 1,000 percent spike in state class actions filed against them. Facing these massive suits, and watching their share prices sink with bad publicity, corporations settle rather than risk billions of dollars in punitive damages."

That same article cited a study by Class Action Reports showing that on the average, lawyers who bring class-action suits earn $1,000 per hour while their clients get "virtually nothing." The example given in the article concluded: "The insurer settled the suit for $100 million, the lawyer who filed the suit pocketed $8 million, policy holders got a paltry $5.50 each, and everyone's auto insurance bill went up."

But not even the most obvious abuses of the system are easily halted. Both in Congress and in the S.C. Legislature, tort reform has been the subject of more talk than action for a number of years. This week, however, the S.C. House passed a number of reform measures, including a provision aimed at stopping "venue" shopping in general tort cases that mirrors the same problem faced on the national level with class-action suits. South Carolina's Hampton County has long been cited as a favorite plaintiff's attorney "venue" for tort cases. The S.C. Supreme Court recently struck down a $1 million verdict by a Hampton jury, saying the state's venue law had been too loosely interpreted and the state House moved this week to further tighten the laws on where lawsuits may be filed. That bill now is in the Senate. Further, the state Senate has approved a $350,000 monetary cap on non-economic damages on medical malpractice suits. That bill now is in the House.

Medical malpractice caps also are a priority of the Bush administration along with other tort reform measures that USA Today quotes opponents as saying will be harder to come by than class-action lawsuit reform. Too many big bucks are involved to believe these reforms will be easily accomplished. The challenge to the leadership both at the state and national level is to maintain the momentum. Timing remains the key, and for the moment, it is on the side of tort reform.