Faith group to fight bid to cap lawsuit damages

Jerry Cox, director of the influential faith-based Family Council, announced his plan Wednesday to expend the group’s resources — both in money and through its network of churches — to defeat Issue 1.

Issue 1, placed on the Nov. 6 general election ballot by Republican majorities in the Legislature last year, is a proposed constitutional amendment that would enact caps on attorneys’ fees and certain lawsuit damages — such as those levied to compensate for “pain and suffering” — while transferring final authority over the judiciary’s rule-making process to the Legislature. Cox dubbed the measure “bad tort reform.”

The Family Council’s plan to fight Issue 1 includes a breakfast-and-luncheon tour of 30 Arkansas cities and towns, Cox said, as well as sending materials through its member list and purchasing relatively low-priced ads on billboards and radio.

“With the tour and all, we’ve pretty much exhausted what we’re going to spend,” Cox said.

According to the most recent reports filed with the state Ethics Commission, the Family Council has about $123,426 left to spend

opposing Issue 1.

That’s a fraction of the millions of dollars raised by well-funded special-interest groups both for and against the measure. A ruling by a Pulaski County circuit judge earlier this month declared that Issue 1 was an illegal “logrolling” of various issues into one ballot measure. The judge’s decision, which would stop the counting of votes on Issue 1, is on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Until a final ruling is made by the high court, most groups campaigning for or against Issue 1 say they are proceeding as if votes will count Nov. 6.

Traditionally a supporter of conservative causes, the Family Council has split from many Republicans over the issue of tort reform, though Cox asserted Wednesday that the organization was supportive of “good” reforms not included in the measure.

The Family Council similarly opposed an effort to enact “non-economic” damage caps on medical malpractice suits on a proposal in 2016. The council said its stance was in line with “pro-life” values toward nursing-home patients and the medically frail.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cox again asserted a “moral” opposition to Issue 1.

“Issue 1 puts a price tag on human life,” Cox said. “Issue 1 devalues the lives of children, the elderly, stay-at-home moms and the disabled.”

Carl Vogelpohl, director of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce-backed campaign to pass Issue 1, asserted that the Family Council had “rented and licensed their brand to a trial firm.”

The Family Council Action Committee has reported receiving almost all of its contributions, $163,824, from the law firm Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, some of which came in the form of billboard ads purchased by the firm.

Arkansans for Jobs and Justice, the committee run by Vogelpohl, has by comparison raised more than $2.1 million, mostly from health care, trucking and business groups, and doctors and the Walton family.

Despite the Family Council’s deep network among churches in the state, Christian conservatives are not all lining up behind its message, Vogelpohl said.

“It is decidedly not a prolife issue; it is an economic issue and a legal issue,” wrote Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council director Larry Page in a recent issue of Arkansas Baptist News. Page said he took no stance on Issue 1.

Toni Rose, with the Harrison group An American Speaks, said her faith-based organization — founded in 2015 — is planning its own speaking tour supporting Issue 1 that so far includes six stops across Arkansas.

She said the risks of costly litigation in Arkansas hurt the state’s competition for quality doctors, putting patients at risk.

“If we don’t pass tort reform, Arkansas will continue to be in the bottom of every health and well-being factor,” Rose said.

Cox, however, said that other types of tort reform could minimize the risks for doctors and businesses while protecting people’s claims.

He suggested the Family Council would support efforts such as prohibiting a recruitment of clients by attorneys and raising the penalties for frivolous claims, which are not included in Issue 1.

Grass-roots efforts by supporters of Issue 1 include a ground-based campaign by Arkansans for Jobs and Justice, which has knocked on 69,000 doors, Vogelpohl said.

However, the vast sums of money sitting in the coffers of that group and those backed by the opposing legal community are likely to go toward costly TV ads, which Cox said the Family Council will be unable to afford.

According to reports filed with the Ethics Commission this month, more than $1.5 million has been spent on TV ads in the race through August, three-quarters of it by a group opposed to Issue 1.

“Issue 1 devalues the lives of children, the elderly, stay-athome moms and the disabled.” —Jerry Cox, Family Council director