U.S. Chamber Institute says mass torts often manufactured, not grassroots responses

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) announced at the Spring 2025 Mass Torts Made Perfect (MTMP) conference that plaintiffs' attorneys acknowledge mass torts are often driven by media, science, and government efforts rather than grassroots responses to harm, according to a press release.

According to the Institute’s blog, at the same conference, Nate Barone's analysis reports that senior plaintiffs’ lawyers, including Mike Papantonio, admitted mass torts are "manufactured by plaintiffs’ lawyers" rather than emerging organically from grassroots harm. This candid admission challenges the traditional narrative that mass torts are solely responses to widespread injury.

A 2024 study sponsored by the Brattle Group and published by ILR indicates that the U.S. tort system cost reached $529 billion in 2022, equating to 2.1 percent of GDP and approximately $4,200 per household. The report also noted tort costs growing at an annual pace of 7.1 percent between 2016 and 2022, outstripping general inflation and GDP growth.

The ILR’s website further explains that before Florida's 2023 tort reforms, it registered the highest tort costs per household at $5,768 and tort expenditures representing 3.3 percent of state GDP—well above national averages. These figures highlight the outsized economic impact of mass tort litigation on certain states.

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is the policy arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to promoting fairness and efficiency in the civil justice system. It conducts research, advocates for evidence-based tort reforms—such as improving Multi-District Litigation (MDL) processes, elevating evidentiary standards, regulating lawsuit advertising, and increasing litigation funder transparency—and seeks to reduce lawsuit-driven economic burdens.