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Carl Vogelpohl to Lead Tort Reform Effort

2 min read

Carl Vogelpohl, who has been chief of staff for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, has left the post and will oversee Arkansans for Jobs and Justice, a coalition that will campaign for a tort reform measure on the ballot next year.

Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, announced the appointment on Tuesday. Zook is chairman of Arkansans for Jobs and Justice.

“We are excited that Carl has joined our team,” Zook said in a news release. “He has the right combination of knowledge and experience to lead this important campaign for Arkansas and win next November.”

Legislators voted earlier this year to refer Senate Joint Resolution 8 to Arkansas voters in the 2018 general election. The proposed constitutional amendment would limit payouts in lawsuits and shift final rule making authority of the state Supreme Court to the Legislature.

In addition to the State Chamber, other groups backing Arkansans for Jobs and Justice include the Arkansas Medical Society, the Arkansas Poultry Federation, Arkansas Trucking Association and the Arkansas Health Care Association.

SJR 8 would cap monetary awards for pain and suffering at $500,000 and punitive damages, which punish wrongful conduct, at $500,000 or three times the amount of the damages awarded to the plaintiff for an actual loss. It would also limit contingency fees to 33.3 percent for lawyers, a bargain compared with the 40 percent that attorneys can get for taking on complex cases.

In addition to the caps, SRJ 8 would let the Legislature, with a three-fifths vote, amend rules of pleading, practice and procedure “for all courts.”

Among those likely to oppose SRJ 8 is the Arkansas Bar Association, which in June considered proposing its own constitutional amendment to prevent the General Assembly from capping damages in lawsuits and limiting attorney’s fees and to require political campaigns to identify “dark money” donors. The association voted against proposing the amendment, but it has remained critical of SJR 8.

An Arkansas native, Vogelpohl served as Rutledge’s chief of staff since her victory in 2014. He previously worked as chief of staff to then-U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, and he has led his own political consulting firm, Split Rail Consulting.

“I am looking forward to working with this diverse coalition of leaders as we talk with Arkansans about how crucial the passage of a constitutional amendment for tort reform is for the future of our state,” Vogelpohl said.

In a separate announcement, Rutledge’s office said Cory Cox of Perryville had been named chief of staff. Cox has been Rutledge’s legislative director since 2015.

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