Mississippi Republicans trying to slam the courthouse doors but only on the 99%

Mississippi Republicans are trying to slam the courthouse doors by trying to enact a blatently unconstitutional loser pays statute, but only on plaintiffs who are represented by contingency fee agreements.  In other words, corporations or individuals who are rich enough to pay an attorney by the hour to file a lawsuit can sue without worrying about paying the prevailing defendant's legal fees.  But those that can't afford to pay an attorney $200 or more an hour, i.e. those that rely on contingency fee agreements to be able to be represented, i.e. the vast majority of us, will be virtually shut out of the courthouse, since what plaintiff's attorney is going to risk bankruptcy every time he files a case. 

It would only take losing once to force most plaintiff's attorneys into bankruptcy.  But if the plaintiff wins, does the losing defendant have to pay the plaintiff's fees?  No, they only have to pay for the damage they already caused, to bring the plaintiff back to even. 

Republican Gary Chism, whose bio reads like a who's who of insurance affiliations, is the bill's sponsor.  As one fellow blogger put it - passage of this bill will make Mississippi the most dangerous place to live in the United States. 

The language of the bill is here --->  http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2012/html/HB/0500-0599/HB0562IN.htm

Republican Gary Chism's profile is here ---->  http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/house/chism.xml
Be sure to contact him and, (more importantly) your own representatives, and voice your strong dissent to this blatent attempt to hurt individuals and thereby fill the coffers of insurance companies and big business.

Finally, Philip Thomas provides an excellent analysis of this bill here ---->  http://www.mslitigationreview.com/2012/02/articles/politics-in-mississippi/republican-legislator-proposes-loser-pays-statute-for-people-and-their-lawyers/