Legal reform

Purpose 

Reduce Oklahoma businesses’ vulnerability to frivolous lawsuits and remove legal threats and obstacles to legitimate business operations through legal justice and lawsuit reform.   

2020 Legislative Initiatives

• Support pro-business lawsuit reforms, reforms to Oklahoma’s product liability laws, and push back against legislation that would expand liability
  • Support Rational Use of a Product Act 
  • Support Statute of Repose not to exceed ten years
  • Update the Oklahoma Rules of Procedure to reflect changes to pleading standards in the federal system
  • Strengthen the use of the summary judgement statute  
  • Support certificate of merit reform
  • Support a solution to place a limit on non-economic damages
  • Strengthen and broaden the Oklahoma Offer of Judgment Statute
  • Protect property owners from attorney fee liability when the state demands a jury trial in eminent domain appeals
  • Support amending public and private nuisance laws to avoid misuse
  • Support Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts (TiPAC — Attorney General contracts on a contingency fee basis with outside counsel)
  • Support pro-business reforms to Oklahoma’s judicial nominating process including term and/or age limits, and implementation of the federal (or quasi-federal) process
• Support business friendly protections in the new medical marijuana laws 
• Support efforts to further criminal justice reform to improve workforce and protect public safety while decreasing costs within the state's budget
• Special Laws:  Support reforming Article 5, Section 46 of the Oklahoma Constitution to remove the provision limiting civil actions
• Logrolling:  Support reforming Article 5, section 57 of the Oklahoma Constitution to include clear, defined and simple guidelines on what constitutes or does not constitute a violation of the single-subject provision
• The American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance does not constitute the law or public policy of this state if the statement is inconsistent or in conflict with: The Constitution of the United States or Oklahoma; Oklahoma statute; Oklahoma case law precedent; or other common law that may have been adopted by Oklahoma

Issue Brief: Key Lawsuit Reforms & Their Impact (2017)
Issue Brief: The Impact of Judicial Philosophy on Business and Industry (2017)