NFIB

The Need for Tort Reform
11/ 04/ 2002

by Hilda Bankston

My husband and I lived the American dream until three years ago when we were caught up in what has become an American legal nightmare.

Born in Guatemala, I moved to the United States in 1958 and worked in factories in New York before enlisting in the Marine Corps where I met my husband, Navy Seaman Fourth Class Mitchell Bankston.

After graduating from pharmacy school in 1971, Mitch fulfilled his lifelong dream of buying and operating a pharmacy in Fayette, Miss. He worked hard and built a solid reputation as a caring, honest pharmacist.

But our world and dreams were shaken to their foundation in 1991. The Bankston Drugstore was named as a defendant in a national class action lawsuit brought in Jefferson County, Miss., against one of the nation's largest drug companies, the manufacturer of Fen-Phen, an FDA-approved drug for weight loss.

Though Mississippi law does not allow for class action lawsuits, it does allow for consolidation of lawsuits as long as the case involves a plaintiff or defendant from Mississippi. Since ours was the only drugstore in Jefferson County and had filled prescriptions for Fen-Phen (a drug whose manufacturer is headquartered in New Jersey) the plaintiffs could keep the case in a place already known for its lawsuit-friendly environment. They could also use our records as a virtual database of potential clients.

Mitch had always taken the utmost caution and care with his patients. As the Fen-Phen case drew more attention, he became increasingly concerned about what our customers would think. His integrity, honor and reputation were on the line.

Overnight, our life's work had gone from serving the public's health to becoming a means to an end for trial lawyers to cash in on lucrative class action lawsuits.

Then three weeks after being named in the lawsuit, Mitch, who was 58 years old and in good health, died suddenly of a massive heart attack. In the midst of my grief, I was called to testify in the first Fen-Phen trial.

I sold the pharmacy in 1999, but still spend countless hours retrieving records for plaintiffs and getting dragged into court again and again to testify in hundreds of national lawsuits brought in Jefferson County against the pharmacy and out-of-state manufacturers of other drugs.

The lawsuits have been encouraged by rumors of outrageously large rewards. Attorneys handling these claims compare their actions to winning the lottery.

This lawsuit frenzy has hurt my family and my community. Businesses will no longer locate in Jefferson County because of fear of litigation. The county's reputation has driven liability insurance rates through the roof.

No small business should have to endure the nightmares I have experienced. I'm not a lawyer, but to me, something is wrong with our legal system when innocent bystanders are little more than pawns for lawyers seeking to strike it rich in Jefferson County--or any other county in the United States where lawsuits are "big business." I urge Congress to pass legislation reforming our legal system before more small business owners and their families are hurt.

Hilda Bankston and her husband are the former owners of the Bankston Drugstore in Fayette, Miss.

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This article originally appeared in the October/November 2002 issue of MyBusiness magazine.

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