The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its second annual poll on the fairness of reasonableness of state liability systems late last week.

The poll, conducted by the Chamber's Institute of Legal Reform and Harris Interactive, found more than 82% of corporate attorneys said a state's litigation environment affects business decisions such as where to locate or do business. And 65% -- up from 57% in the last survey -- of those surveyed ranked state court liability systems "fair" or "poor."
Delaware, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Indiana are ranked by respondents as the best states to do business. The worst states were Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.
Those surveyed -- including corporate counselors and senior litigators -- were from companies with annual revenues of at least $100 million. They graded all 50 states on:
-- Treatment of class action suits
-- Punitive damages
-- Timeliness of summary judgment/dismissal
-- Discovery
-- Scientific and technical evidence
-- Judges' impartiality and competence
-- Juries' fairness and predictability
To bring their findings to the attention of the public, the chamber is running full-page ads in papers in Alabama, Illinois, Texas and Louisiana, along with national ads in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.