CAFA grants federal courts original jurisdiction over class actions where any member of a proposed class is a citizen of a different state from the defendant. The report notes that this change in the law favors corporate defendants, minimizing the potential impact of local jury prejudice, among other things.

As for the "cheeseburger bills," at least a dozen states have enacted these bills aimed at reducing the risk of obesity claims against fast food chains and food manufacturers.

Andrew Marcell, managing director and global leader of Guy Carpenter's Casualty Specialty Practices, noted, however, that some recent developments have defendants and insurers coming up on the short side, including plaintiff's jury verdicts against the World Trade Center and Port Authority in New York and state court rulings in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where tort reform legislation has been struck down as unconstitutional.

A jury found the Port Authority, the agency that owned the World Trade Center, was negligent (and 68 percent liable) in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, because it did not properly protect the parking garage where terrorists detonated explosives, the report said.

The study, prepared by the law firm of Lord Bissell & Brook in conjunction with Guy Carpenter, also tallies the number of states enacting key tort reform measures (such as reforms capping non-economic damages, reforms directed at forum shopping and reforms aimed at reining in punitive damages, among others).

Under the heading, "Miscellaneous Developments," the report also gives information to help readers assess the potential outcome of Hurricane Katrina-related issues. For example, the study notes that hurricane-impacted states have been rated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among those with the least fair litigation environments. U.S. Chamber ranks Louisiana 47th and Mississippi 50th.

The report also analyzes several candidates to become "the next asbestos" or "the next tobacco."

While silica no longer looks like the next asbestos to the report's authors, other candidates include more than 11,000 claims from welding rod fume illness and lead paint claims.

The report notes that while defendants in lead paint cases purport to have paid no money toward adverse judgments and settlements so far, a public nuisance theory of liability that is being tested in some courts–and potentially allowing plaintiffs to bypass traditional product liability requirements–could open up "huge" potential liabilities given the number of buildings in the United States.

The study is available for download at www.guycarp.com. Printed copies of the study can be obtained by contacting Guy Carpenter at [email protected].