Rod Grams: “for the last 2 weeks we have had a serious debate over our Nation's broken liability system. We have heard stores from…”

“for the last 2 weeks we have had a serious debate over our Nation's broken liability system. We have heard stores from supporters of the plaintiff's bar who claim that manufacturers are putting products on the market with little regard for consumer safety. And we have also heard from supporters of manufacturers who have anecdotes of honest individuals who were sued for multimillion-dollar awards and settled out of court to avoid more costly legal fees, even when they were innocent. Later today or tomorrow, there will be an effort by supporters of product liability reform to end debate, but before we do that, I wanted to make sure this body heard comments from a few of my constituents An all-too-familiar story from America's small businesses is exemplified in a letter from Trade Mart Furniture's Jerry Johnson, a constituent from Rochester, MN. Jerry writes: I've experienced firsthand the effects of a frivolous lawsuit. After two years of court appearances, legal fees and countless hours, I won. It cost almost $10,000 to defend myself. I thought the legal system was created to protect the citizen, not the profiteer. Ann Hartman of Hartman Tree Farms in Victoria, MN, states, ``I am tired of seeing lawyers make so much money off the tragedies of others.'' And a couple from Menahga, MN, who own Burkel Turkey Farms writes: The system now is a free-for-all for the money-hungry and the lawyers.”