About Us

Tort reform is one of the judicial system’s most hotly contested topics. It can also be a confusing subject to understand. The Other Side Cafe is a site created to strip away that confusion by exploring all sides of tort reform, and explaining all of the angles in a way that is easy to understand.

To begin with, it’s important to have a basic understand of tort and tort reform. A simple definition of a tort is that it is an action taken by someone, negligently or intentionally, that causes someone else to suffer (emotionally, physically) and, in turn, that leads to civil liability. The victim then has the right to seek redress in civil court. Therefore, tort reform focuses on proposing changes in the civil justice system that would limit a victim’s right to seek monetary compensation in civil court. For example, some tort reform proposals revolve around shortening the statute of limitations while others put efforts into placing a cap on the amount of monetary compensation a victim can seek.

With so many different state and federal laws to untangle, as well as the countless scenarios in which one can end up in civil court (car accidents, dog bites, faulty products), even those who specialize in tort law can easily become confused or lose track of all of the changes. That is where The Other Side Cafe steps in, because our team of researchers and experts strives to not only help you understand the basics of tort law and tort reform, but they also search the internet and access their own professional resources to consistently post information about the latest efforts in the area of tort reform.

It should come as no surprise that some of the biggest backers of tort reform are insurance companies and corporations since they have the most to lose. They work to impose strict monetary and timeline limits on the victims seeking redress. However, we here at The Other Side Cafe believe in fair laws and equitable compensation for victims, and that is one reason why we are so passionate about educating the public and tracking the changes made through tort reform efforts.