The St. Louis metro area and Cook County are again among the worst Judicial Hellhole jurisdictions, according to the American Tort Reform Foundation.
The new report released Tuesday by ATR highlights eight judicial jurisdictions across the country that earned the reputation of being “Judicial Hellholes.” Some are known for so-called nuclear verdicts with high monetary awards, like Los Angeles, which came in at No. 1 with a “Tort Tax” of $2,458 per resident and 407,500 jobs lost.
“The jurisdiction separated itself as the worst of the worst in 2025,” the report said. “It saw an eye-popping $1 billion nuclear verdict, fraud allegations exposing abusive litigation practices, and courts entertaining novel liability theories that expand defendants’ exposure.”…