An insurance trade organization was quick to react to that number. "These findings provide yet another rationale for states to pay as much attention to the quality of their liability environment as they do to their state's transportation infrastructure, tax structure and education system," said David Snyder, American Insurance Association assistant general counsel in Washington.

There has been "a litigation explosion at the state court level that is taking a devastating economic toll on the country, as billions of dollars are transferred from business and consumers into the pockets of trial lawyers," said Mr. Snyder. "The results of this survey show that there are also indirect costs to those states with out-of-control tort systems: the potential loss of state revenues through reduced economic development and job creation."

Among the states, the one seen as having the best liability system overall was Delaware, which also came out on top in virtually every grading category.

In treatment of class actions, among the top five, the best states after Delaware were rated as Washington, North Carolina, Nebraska and Iowa. The "top five" list of worst states for class actions was headed by West Virginia, followed by Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

The best five states in their handling of punitive damages were rated as Delaware, Kansas, Virginia, North Carolina and South Dakota. The states perceived worst in that category were Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Texas and California.

Among larger population jurisdictions in the overall ranking of state liability systems, the numerical order was as follows: Ohio, 26; New York, 27; Michigan, 28; Pennsylvania, 31; New Jersey, 32; Florida, 33; Illinois, 34; California, 45; and Texas, 46.

More information on the survey can be found online at http://www.litigationfairness.org/liabilities_survey.pdf