Our Mission:
The Idaho Liability Reform Coalition is dedicated to ensuring Idaho has a fair, efficient and predictable civil justice system and working to improve our liability laws for the benefit of all Idahoans.
About Us:
The Idaho Liability Reform Coalition was formed in 1986 to pursue legislation in Idaho to make the civil justice system more fair, efficient and predictable for all Idahoans, as well as to foster a stable and affordable insurance environment.
At that time, Idahoans faced an unpredictable, perplexing tort system and were being held hostage by plaintiffs, trial lawyers and the “lawsuit industry.” As a result, insurance was not readily available to many Idahoans, or at least not at a price they could afford.
Litigation and malpractice insurance problems raided the wallet of every Idahoan creating a hidden tax on almost every product and service. Most perplexing and damaging was the unpredictable nature of the tort system underlying those problems – a system originally designed to “keep whole” those who are injured by actions or negligence of others and to require the part at fault to be held responsible.
Businesses, professional and even our state and local governments were faced with extraordinarily costly liability insurance, if they could even find it at all. Idaho needed to maintain balance in our courts or face the consequences.
Things had to change.
For nearly 30 years, the ILRC has fought to improve liability laws and worked to ensure the fair and efficient administration of justice in Idaho. While our efforts in those early years were successful, the gains we fought for could have been lost without a strong, on-going effort by this committed coalition. Even today, without constant vigilance, our opponents will seize any opportunity to tip the scales of justice back in their favor.
Over the year, the Idaho Legislature has enacted significant legislation to improve our civil justice system. Just as significantly, lawmakers have repeatedly rejected legislation that would erode Idaho’s hard won accomplishments. We thank the Idaho Legislature for their thoughtful consideration of tort legislation each time it is presented.
Our work is not done.
As new legislators take office every two years, it is vital we educate them about the liability reforms that have passed and the importance of maintaining those reforms. From time to time, the Idaho Courts issue decisions that are not in keeping with our goals. Occasionally, those decisions draw attention to problems in existing Idaho law that we need to address. This takes constant vigilance. The ILRC periodically advocates for legislation, as necessary, to correct the law so and ensure Idahoans are not being inappropriately exploited. This is a job that doesn’t go away. Someone needs to be on watch and ready to intervene as necessary. This is our mission. Join us!