A noted article.

Month after month, I am impressed by the high standards of scholarship and

professionalism embodied in this publication. I was, therefore, not at all surprised to see that an article from TRIAL featured prominently in a recent decision of the Oklahoma Supreme Court striking down a state statute that required plaintiffs to file affidavits of merit in medical malpractice cases. (Zeier v. Zimmer, Inc., 152 P.3d 861 (Okla. 2006).)

The article--an insightful, well-researched, and persuasively written piece by Seabrook, Maryland, trial lawyer David Kopstein--was entitled "An Unwise 'Reform' Measure" [May 2003, at 26]. In the Zeier opinion, Chief Justice Joseph Watt cites the article in no fewer than six footnotes as authority for a variety of legal and practical effects of statutes requiting affidavits of merit.

Plaintiffs in Oklahoma asserting negligence generally need only file a petition giving defendants fair notice of the claims and the grounds on which they rest, but the statute at issue in Zeier required plaintiffs in medical negligence cases to file affidavits of merit from medical experts affirming that the claims against health care providers were meritorious and that the defendants' acts or omissions constituted professional negligence.

Finding that the statute targeted the class of medical malpractice plaintiffs for different treatment than the entire class of tort victims, the Oklahoma high court held that it violated the state constitutional prohibition against special laws.

The court further found that the law created an unconstitutional monetary barrier to access to the courts because the costs associated with identifying a suitable expert and obtaining the necessary affidavit of merit effectively precluded some plaintiffs from obtaining judicial review of their grievances.

The trial lawyers who represented the plaintiff and ably argued their cause to the state supreme court--John Nicks and Thomas Layo of Tulsa, Oklahoma--should be commended for this exemplary result.

AAJ, too, should be proud that its flagship publication is so well received--and relied on in the highest courts of the land.

George S. Tolley III

Timonium, Maryland