There is no shortage of phony front groups in the fight over tort reforms, which are measures taken in some states (but rarely in Pennsylvania) to place reasonable limits and controls on lawsuits.

Last Sunday, we examined an attack by the Center for Justice & Democracy on another outfit, Pacific Research Institute, which supports tort reform. CJ&D said PRI was just a ''corporate front group.''

I saw humor in CJ&D's attack, because CJ&D is nothing but a front group for ambulance-chasing lawyers. (That's my term; they prefer ''personal injury'' or ''contingency fee'' lawyers — or even the truly obfuscating ''trial lawyers.'')

Some of the reactions were surprising. ''I just want to say I loved your article, and finally some heat on bogus front groups for my fellow wealthy attorneys,'' wrote Brad Bank, a Philadelphia lawyer.

Less surprising were comments by two of the state's most prominent tort reform activists, both from this area.

''Thank you SO MUCH … for doing your journalistic duty — i.e., a little bit of research,'' wrote Donna Rovito of South Whitehall Township.

''I thought that [the Sunday column] was great,'' said Tom Bonekemper of Quakertown.

Rovito and Bonekemper do not hide behind front groups. Rovito is editor of the ''Liability Update'' newsletter and got into the tort reform movement because her husband is a surgeon. (The medical profession is a favorite target of lawyers.) Bonekemper is both a lawyer and physician who knows the ins and outs of both fields.

They made the point that CJ&D is not the only phony front for ambulance chasers.

For example, ''Pennsylvania Citizens for Fairness,'' which boasts of working to protect the rights of average citizens, is based at Suite 600, 121 S. Broad St., Philadelphia. That is also the address of a powerful lobbying outfit called the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, which has about as much devotion to fairness as a herd of professional wrestlers.

The ''Committee for Justice for All'' is at 600 Third Ave., Kingston. (''Fighting for the People's Rights,'' says the CJA's press releases.) If you check the Yellow Pages for Kingston, oddly enough, you'll find the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn, which specializes in personal injury lawsuits, at 600 Third Ave.

With those and other phony fronts, and with generous contributions to politicians, ambulance chasers have been spectacularly successful in thwarting most tort reform measures in Pennsylvania.

For example, they poured money into Gov. Ed Rendell's coffers — while a meager but important tort reform was being enacted by the Legislature. It restored some sanity to the ''joint and several'' legal tool, used to target deep pockets for all the money sought in a lawsuit, even if they had only a minuscule part of the blame.

Rendell vetoed that measure last month. Quid pro quo.

(Where are Rendell's loyalties? Check out the ''product liability and mass tort'' law firm where he worked before he became governor, or maybe his flack Dan Fee, who jumps back and forth between his government job and his job at Suite 600 in Philadelphia.)

Why should you care about all this? A PRI study found ''excessive tort costs'' cost the average American family of four $2,654 a year, including bloated insurance rates and costs of products and services.

Pennsylvania has one of the worst tort reform ratings in the nation, so that $2,654 may be wildly optimistic. In any event, is it worth $2,654 to you for the remote chance that a lawyer might win you a big lawsuit jackpot someday? You get better odds in the lottery.

Keep in mind that contingency fee control is among the other tort reforms that Pennsylvania has shunned, so even if you win, you may get zilch after lawyers grab their cut.

The generosity of lobbyists helps kill tort PRI in the News By: Paul Carpenter 5.21.2006