BLUEFIELD – West Virginia state Senate President Bill Cole and House Judiciary Chairman John Shott spoke recently at a legal reform group event.
West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse members joined small business owners and community leaders in Bluefield to discuss the much-needed legal reforms passed by the West Virginia Legislature this year during WV CALA's final Small Business Summer Tour stop of the year.
Cole and Shott spoke about legal reform issues they plan to address during next year’s legislative session.
“One of the significant achievements from this year's legislative session was passing meaningful legal reform legislation that will reduce insurance rates, benefiting businesses and families all across West Virginia,” Cole said.
WV CALA Executive Director Roman Stauffer called his group's summer series a success.
“This year’s Small Business Summer Tour has successfully highlighted how lawsuit abuse hurts small businesses in West Virginia," Stauffer said. "Unscrupulous personal injury lawyers often target small businesses, and just a single abusive lawsuit force a small business to close its doors for good.
“It’s an honor to have Senate President Bill Cole and House Judiciary Chairman John Shott with us to talk about the legal reforms that our legislature passed this year.”
Stauffer said the annual Small Business Summer Tour is one of CALA’s major initiatives. He said it provides small businesses, community leaders and elected officials a chance to talk about legal reform in an effort to improve the state's business climate and create jobs.
“Thanks to the leadership of Senate President Bill Cole and House Speaker Tim Armstead, West Virginia pursued an economic development agenda that included badly-needed reforms to the state’s lawsuit system," Stauffer said. "These reforms will make our state more competitive when it comes to attracting investment and competing for new jobs."