In Maine, small businesses and working families form the backbone of our economy and communities. From family-run diners in Lewiston-Auburn to boatbuilders along the coast, we Mainers pride ourselves on hard work, resilience and fairness. But an ongoing threat looms over our livelihoods — overzealous lawsuits that benefit trial lawyers more than the people they represent. Maine should embrace sensible legal reform to help fix the problem.

Frivolous lawsuits with little or no merit are often intended to pressure a settlement rather than to seek justice. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, small businesses nationwide pay an estimated $160 billion annually in lawsuit abuse costs.

These lawsuits don’t only target big corporations with deep pockets. Small businesses bear roughly 48% of that cost. A small business owner in Maine defending against a meritless claim can be devastating — often leading to higher insurance premiums, stalled growth or closed doors.

Consider a local contractor in Bangor who’s hit with a personal injury claim that lacks evidence. The cost of defending that lawsuit — attorney fees, time spent away from work, stress — can be overwhelming. Settling becomes the cheaper option even when the claim is groundless. That’s not justice. It’s legalized extortion and it’s wrong.

The consequences of lawsuit abuse don’t stop with the small business — they ripple through households across Maine. For example, higher liability insurance costs for doctors and hospitals get passed on to patients through higher health care prices.

A report from the Pacific Research Institute found that excessive litigation contributes to increased health care spending and longer wait times for treatment. For a family in rural Maine, already struggling to find consistent medical care, these additional costs are not just inconvenient — they’re harmful.

Families also suffer when local jobs are lost because businesses either move out of state or choose not to expand due to the risk of legal exposure. The burden of a frivolous lawsuit can mean not hiring that new worker, not increasing wages or not upgrading aging equipment, which can be a safety issue.

Billboard attorneys argue that aggressive lawsuits protect the public and hold negligent parties accountable. That can be true, but when overdone regular folks get the short end of the stick. Contingency legal fees often reach 30-40% of a settlement. That’s a powerful motivation to file as many lawsuits as possible regardless of the facts. The attorneys make out fine while the actual victims might see only a fraction of the settlement, let alone the parties who are innocent.

Curbing unreasonable litigation will protect honest small businesses that provide valuable jobs for our fellow Mainers. Our legal system should reflect our values of hard work, fairness and common sense — not cutting corners and cheating the system.