Madison and St. Clair Counties were once again given a reprieve from the American Tort Reform Association’s (ATRA) “Judicial Hellholes” list.
After ranking as one of the nation’s top “Judicial Hellholes” more than a dozen times, Madison and St. Clair County courts were instead noted in the “Dishonorable Mentions” category of the annual report for the second year in a row.
The counties earned their titles for consistently remaining the preferred venue for asbestos claims. Madison County is the nation’s epicenter of asbestos litigation, but Madison, St. Clair and Cook Counties all attract asbestos plaintiffs from across the country.
“Even as asbestos claims continue to fall nationwide, plaintiffs’ firms continue to choose this trio of counties as their preferred destination while defendants bear the burden of fighting what are often unsubstantiated claims,” the report states.
Further, legislation was filed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August, which allows plaintiffs to seek punitive damages in wrongful death cases.
Specifically, Madison County earns its reputation for being the nation’s largest asbestos docket. Nationwide, Madison County hosts nearly one-third of all asbestos lawsuits filed, and more than 90% of those cases are filed on behalf of out-of-state plaintiffs.
Most of the asbestos claims filed in Madison County allege injuries from mesothelioma, and the average number of named defendants rose from 61 in 2021 to 64 in 2022.
Additionally, Madison County saw a 35% increase in asbestos lawsuits alleging injuries as a result of talcum powder use, which is consistent with the nationwide rise in talcum powder claims.
Madison County saw more than double the asbestos claims filed in St. Clair County, which is ranked by the technology and management consulting firm KCIC as the second largest docket in the nation.
ATRA’s report states that St. Clair County saw a “modest decline” in 2022 compared to 2021, but it is still one of the largest asbestos dockets in the nation.
Specifically, St. Clair County sees mostly lung cancer case filings, a majority of which are filed by out-of-state plaintiffs.
In the past 20 years, Madison County was included on the “Hellhole” list 14 times and its “Watch List” four times. It has improved its ranking more recently, appearing on the “Dishonorable Mentions” list the past two years.
Its rankings coincide with a historic flip in county politics beginning in 2020, when Republicans won county seats previously held by Democrats. Then in 2022, Madison County saw a historic Republican sweep of three judicial races, resulting in a new conservative majority.
In the years leading up to the judicial shake-up, civil justice reform advocates and the county GOP opposed the Democratically-controlled court for welcoming out-of-state plaintiffs suing businesses from all over the country in the Third Judicial Circuit.