Oklahoma's Tort Secrets
Protecting the pay-to-sue racket.
Editorial
The Wall Street Journal
May 23, 2009
Whenever a governor vetoes a bill because it would have "unintended consequences," you know it deserves a closer look. So it is in Oklahoma, where Democratic Governor Brad Henry said precisely that while turning down a bill that would have shed light on the state's pay-to-sue racket.
That's the unseemly state practice of hiring outside lawyers to sue private companies on a contingency fee basis. The Oklahoma bill would have required more transparency and limitations on these deals. More to the point, the bill would have offered a close look at how this game has been played by Mr. Henry's probable successor, Democratic Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
