Schwartz Quoted in Two Recent Press Articles

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Public Policy Partner Victor Schwartz was quoted in a June 11, 2014, BNA article about support for and opposition to legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 20. Titled the “Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2014 (S.2364), the bill would require federal judges to consider public safety and health before sealing court records or settlement agreements. The proposal was prompted by recent auto recalls and responds to reports that the company involved had settled liability suits involving the same alleged defect some nine years ago. Schwartz claimed that the legislation is not needed and said, “Federal judges currently take these public health and safety considerations into account.”

Schwartz, who represented the American Tort Reform Association in support of a party seeking review before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could have stopped state law-based nuisance claims against alleged air polluters, was also quoted in a June 9, 2014, National Law Journal article discussing the high court’s refusal to review the Third Circuit ruling allowing the state law claims to proceed. Relying on a 2011 Supreme Court determination that the Clean Air Act preempts lawsuits filed under federal common law, Schwartz said, “The court in that case made clear that regulatory agencies are a better place than courts to weigh complex scientific environmental issues and economic impact issues.” With the U.S. Supreme Court denying review here, he said, “The lower courts will have to decide an issue that is likely to bring about more litigation without having the beacon of a Supreme Court decision.”