re not in effect when the item was manufactured or the service offered. NYCJR recommends the adoption of a three-year statute of limitations for product liability cases (beginning from the time of the discovery of the injury).Tort reform debate has been reviewed at many levels, including the courts and the legislatures. In principle, though, tort reform may also be reviewed within the frame of biblical standards. As commentary of this issue, we offer the following scriptural references:Proverb 22:16 – He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches…shall surely come to want.Leviticus 19:15 – Ye shall do no righteousness in judgment…but in righteousness shall thou judge thy neighbor.Proverbs 1:19 – So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.These tort reform proposals are essential to the financial well being of New York. They can no longer afford to be victimized by unfair and exaggerated claims brought by plaintiffs and their lawyers. The City acknowledges that genuinely meritorious claims must be compensated. But there is a difference between compensating and rewarding. Trial lawyers’ grasp on the tort litigation process has held taxpayers captive to laws no longer suited to the times. The result has cost New York many millions of dollars. It is time New York broke free and responded to the need for an equitable tort litigation process. Just about everybody loses in the ongoing game of lawsuit lottery. Consumers lose when liability costs drive up prices while reducing the availability of goods and services. Workers lose when jobs are lost to foreign competitors with less product liability exposure. The poor lose when the threat of lawsuits makes it difficult for non-profit groups to deliver services. Taxpayers also lose when local governments are seen as the deepest “deep pocket” of all.It's time that someho...
