The American Tort Reform Association recently released the latest update of its annual “Judicial Hellholes” report on the status of lawsuit abuse reform efforts across the country. The report includes some very encouraging signs of positive results from recent reforms, but there remain numerous states and localities where greedy plaintiff lawyers can still turn defendants upside down and shake them till their pockets are empty.

First, the good news from the past year, as described by ATRA. In state courtrooms, the Illinois Supreme Court “firmly rejected consumer class action abuse.” In California, a state appellate court ruled that all members of a class action suit must be able to show actual injury in order to be included in the case. An Oregon trial court rejected a claim for companionship damages in a case involving an injured pet.