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South Carolina’s wealthy and powerful trial lawyer lobby – which has been outspoken in its opposition to proposed lawsuit reform legislation in the Palmetto State – is the focus of a blistering new television advertisement.
The thirty-second ad – obtained exclusively by FITSNews – is said to be dropping soon in connection with the ongoing debate at the S.C. State House over S. 244, legislation introduced by Senate majority leader Shane Massey.
“The trial lawyers are upset their cash cow is getting killed,” the ad’s narrator noted. “They’re mad – and they’re tweeting about it.”
“We can fix South Carolina’s out-of-control lawsuit industry and bring down costs for everyone,” the narrator continued. “But only if the trial lawyers get their hands out of our wallets.”
Take a look…
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South Carolina trial lawyers BLASTED in this hilarious 30-second advertisement dropping soon. "They're mad – and they're tweeting about it." The ad goes on to say @ShaneMassey's tort reform bill would "bring down costs for regular people" and urges lawmakers to support it. pic.twitter.com/D7rI3vta5V
— FITSNews (@fitsnews) March 4, 2025
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The ad is the latest salvo in an increasingly contentious battle over this legislation, which seeks to reform South Carolina’s unfair, anti-competitive tort laws. Trial lawyers – who have been a dominant force in Palmetto politics since Reconstruction – have been playing defense in recent years after several high-profile wrongful death cases exposed the inherent unfairness of the state’s tort laws.
Backed into a corner by Massey’s bill, they’ve come out firing. They’ve also come out spending – dropping mad stacks of cash on ad campaigns targeting senators as well as the services of multiple MAGA social media accounts.
Now, it appears as if they are getting some well-deserved pushback.
Massey’s bill is backed by small business champions like the Mom and Pop Alliance of S.C. as well as big business backers like the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. It is also supported by Senate president Thomas Alexander, governor Henry McMaster and numerous other GOP leaders.
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As previously noted, FITSNews has consistently editorialized in favor of the need for lawsuit reform in South Carolina – having frequently called on lawmakers to fix our badly broken court system… civilly and criminally.
“Trial lawyers are killing competitiveness – and jobs – in South Carolina,” I noted back in December.
Recent studies have shown South Carolina’s notoriously litigious tort climate imposes a weighty “tort tax” – or “lawsuit tax” – on Palmetto families which totals anywhere from $3,200 to $3,600 annually, per family.
Regular members of our audience are well aware of the pernicious influence lawyer-legislators wield over the state’s supposedly “independent” judiciary – and the limited success reformers have had in fixing this rigged system. Our audience is also well aware of the extent to which ostensibly “Republican” lawmakers have installed far left Democrats to key positions within the judiciary – including former S.C. chief justices Jean Toal and Donald Beatty.
Count on FITSNews to continue tracking the latest developments in this ongoing battle as S. 244 hits the floor of the S.C. Senate this week…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
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