Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee

 

 

 

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Sept. 27 — The Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee (ACJRC) has elected Paul Pinyan chairman of its board of directors.

 

Pinyan, who serves as executive director for Alabama Farmers Federation, said he looks forward to working with other business and association leaders to ensure a fair judicial environment that encourages economic opportunities for all Alabamians.

 

“When ACJRC was formed in 1985, employers avoided Alabama because of its reputation for exorbitant punitive damage verdicts. A coalition of small businesses, corporations and trade associations came together to pass reasonable tort reform measures and educate voters about the importance of a fair and balanced civil justice system,” Pinyan said. “Today,

Alabama is attractive to job creators and enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. ACJRC has been instrumental in bringing about this change.”

 

A Cullman County native, Pinyan joined the Federation in 1998 and served as a regional director and governmental affairs director before being named executive director in 2010. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal and dairy science from Auburn University, a master’s degree in education from Alabama A&M University and a juris doctorate from Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law. Pinyan has served as chairman of the Alabama 4-H Foundation, Alabama FFA Foundation, Alabama Council of Association Executives and Auburn University Ag Alumni Club, among other leadership roles. He also serves on the advisory boards for Troy University Manuel H. Johnson Center, UAB Medical School Montgomery Campus and Baptist Medical Center South.

 

Pinyan said the ACJRC mission is more important now than in recent decades.

 

“In 2024, 58 percent of Alabama appellate judicial seats will be up for election,” Pinyan said. “Anti-business political action committees are spending millions to influence these elections. Meanwhile, plaintiff attorneys are luring clients with promises of cash settlements. In one industry alone — commercial trucking — we saw the average national verdict size for lawsuits increase nearly 1,000 percent from 2010 to 2018.

 

“Nursing homes and hospitals are also under attack,” Pinyan continued. “ACJRC recently participated as an amicus curiae by filing a brief with the Supreme Court of Alabama in the appeal by an Alabama hospital of a wrongful death medical malpractice action. A Mobile County jury recently awarded the plaintiff $35 million. During post-verdict proceedings, the trial court reduced the amount of the judgement to $10 million but otherwise upheld the verdict. ACJRC will urge the Court to apply the statutory cap adopted by the Alabama Legislature in 1987, which with its CPI inflation adjustment feature is now just over $2.5 million. I look forward to strengthening the ACJRC coalition as we work to educate Alabama voters and leaders about the pitfalls of jackpot justice and nuclear verdicts.”

 

Pinyan succeeds Tom Dart, who was elected ACJRC chair in 2004. Dart has served as president of the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama since 1985. He will continue to serve on the ACJRC executive committee.