The American civil court system is broken. The court exists to resolve legal disputes between individuals, businesses, and the government, upholding rights and providing remedies, yet it is rife with obstacles put in place by the rich and powerful that make it difficult for ordinary people to hold them accountable.
Every time you click “agree” to the terms and conditions of a website or an app, or book a flight, or request an Uber ride — you are likely entering into agreements with corporations to limit where and how you can bring them to justice, if at all.
Other obstacles make it nearly impossible to bring a claim if someone cannot prove they have suffered the right kind of harm or if the powerful party can claim immunity. Those and other barriers designed to ensure that no one can sue a powerful actor who breaks the law.
These barriers to accountability are proliferating with the growing influence of corporate and government actors over policymakers and the Trump Administration, handing them unprecedented power to block access to the courts for workers and consumers — the U.S. Supreme Court.
Public Justice’s Access to Justice project is dedicated to ensuring that the civil court system is an equitable tool for justice. We’re effective at convincing judges across the ideological and political spectrum to see critical issues as our clients do, with a focus on the text of statutes and the meaning the legislature intended when they were passed, often many years ago. The results speak for themselves: in two recent unanimous decisions, the Supreme Court agreed with us that the corporations in the cases couldn’t stop their workers from suing.
With our deep well of expertise in high-impact litigation, we enable plaintiffs to bring claims in court across a wide spectrum of subject matter areas, ultimately making it easier for the civil court system to be used as originally intended.
Class actions against corporations are often the only way for the public to fight corporate wrongdoing. Our successful landmark suits are reversing the push by corporations to end all class action suits.
Evidence of corporate wrong doing shouldn’t be secret, yet the courts too often seal critical records and shroud them in secrecy. We work to overturn broad secrecy orders, set precedents for transparency, and change a culture that allows companies to hide evidence of their malfeasance.
Many corporations argue that federal laws override state laws and make them immune from lawsuits when they commit wrongdoing. Our federal preemption work has broken down this defense in cases involving unsafe cars, harmful pesticides, illegal drugs, and more.
Arbitration clauses in everyday contracts force individuals to give up their basic rights, banning them from bringing lawsuits against corporations. We’re fighting this insidious attempt to deny people’s legal rights.
Corporations and the government have made it increasingly difficult to prove standing to bring a suit in federal courts. Our two-pronged approach in federal and state courts works to preserve this critical path to justice.
So-called procedural barriers can prevent people from holding the powerful accountable in court. We challenge these obstacles whether used to protect corporations or the government and whether imposed by contract or court.
Source: Economic Policy Institute (EPI) & The American Association for Justice
We have secured landmark rulings to ensure consumers and workers can hold corporations accountable in court.
If you have or know of a potential case that might be appropriate for Public Justice, we will consider involvement in cases that further the goals of one or more of our issue areas. Please fill out the form on our Submit a Case page.
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