Suing Corporations: Now Almost Impossible

As Lina Khan details in this long essay, Over the past thirty years, courts have made citizens suing corporations almost impossible. This is a severe blow to democracy. In the absence of an activist government that holds corporations accountable, citizens using the courts have been central to reform efforts for more than a century. For example, it was workers suing corporations in the 1890s and 1900s that convinced states to develop workers’ compensation laws in the 1910s. Today, as the New Gilded Age develops, this fundamental right of Americans has become largely null and void, thus giving corporations almost unlimited power over everyday people because they face no meaningful penalties when they break the law. The theme of “tort reform,” which actually means “the right of corporations to act with impunity,” has won the day and has made our lives worse.