West Virginia's legal climate has again been ranked dead last in a study released by a national tort reform group, the American Justice Partnership.
But the West Virginia Association for Justice, formerly the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, calls the study bogus and worthless.
The American Justice Partnership's annual report on state legal climates, which shows a stake lodged into a map of West Virginia, reads, "Despite the best efforts of Gov. Joe Manchin, the state's liability climate is the worst in the nation."
The nonprofit organization largely blames the West Virginia Supreme Court and the state's attorney general for the poor ranking.
"Despite the recent election of rule-of-law Justice (Brent) Benjamin and the presence of Justice (Spike) Maynard, the Supreme Court's majority is decidedly activist. Attorney General Darrell McGraw is highly activist," the study contends.
American Justice Partnership Chairman Steve Hantler said he evaluated two existing legal climate studies when preparing the 12-page report for Directorship Magazine, a publication that focuses on corporate governance and leadership.
Previous studies were conducted by the Pacific Research Institute, which ranked West Virginia 43rd, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, which also ranked the state 50th.
Hantler created a third index called the Hantler Weighted Variable and ranked West Virginia 47th. He then used a formula to determine an overall state ranking based on the three indexes.
West Virginia was No. 50, right below Rhode Island and Florida.
Nebraska, Virginia and North Dakota topped the list as best legal climates.
"My company, for example, evaluates where to build a new plant, parts depot or an office," said Hantler, who also serves as assistant general counsel for Chrysler.
"One of the factors we look at is fairness and predictability of the state's legal climate. More and more companies are doing that now."
Hantler was not hesitant to criticize the West Virginia Supreme Court and Attorney General Darrell McGraw after he reviewed business-related cases involving both.
"I've been to West Virginia -- nicest people in the world," Hantler said. "The only thing it's got going against it is the activist Supreme Court and attorney general. If that's changed and the Legislature starts passing laws, we'll see more fairness and predictability."
The lower courts are also to blame, he said.
But Hantler and the American Justice Partnership highly praised the governor.
"Business leaders across the country are aware of Gov. Manchin's even-handed approach in reforming the legal system," Hantler said. "He's just not getting enough help from the other branches of government."
Teresa Toriseva, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice, slammed the justice partnership report and called it another example of political propaganda meant to destroy consumer protection and workplace safety laws.
The U.S. Chamber has been the most vehement critic of West Virginia's legal climate by ranking the state dead last in national rankings year after year and labeling it a judicial hellhole. The U.S. Chamber has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into advertising campaigns attacking state lawmakers it views as anti-business.
"They're recycling studies that have already been discredited," Toriseva said about the American Justice Partnership report Wednesday.
Toriseva also took issue with a quote the justice partnership used in its report from former state Supreme Court Justice Richard Neely: "As long as I am allowed to redistribute wealth from out-of-state companies to in-state plaintiffs, I shall continue to do so."
Toriseva responded, "How can a judge who has not been involved in a decision for more than a decade reflect our current system? That's like taking a quote from President Clinton, who was president when Neely was last on the bench, and attributing it to President Bush and the current administration."
The American Justice Partnership was created in 2005 by the National Association of Manufacturers.
West Virginia Association for Justice Executive Director Beth White noted that a manufacturers association poll conflicts with what the AJP is claiming in its report.
A 2006 survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers shows that fear of litigation had the least negative impact on companies among a list of 10 concerns.
The manufacturers association's president is John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan. Engler's former chief of staff, Dan Pero, serves as president of the American Justice Partnership.
West Virginia Chamber President Steve Roberts said he believes the justice partnership offers a more extensive, reputable study than others.
"I know Steve Hantler," Roberts said. "I've worked with him on several projects, and he has a national reputation as an expert, someone's who's levelheaded and middle-of-the-road."
Roberts agrees with the justice partnership study and concludes the analysis had nothing to do with regional bias. He noted Virginia's No. 2 ranking and Ohio's No. 9 ranking.
"Unfortunately, I'm not able to disagree with it," Roberts said. "We're getting a reputation nationally for having a very challenging legal environment. We're simply not keeping up with the other states."
Contact writer Jake Stump at mailto:jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.
