Tort reform advocate Victor Schwartz dies

Longtime civil justice reform advocate Victor Schwartz died July 28 at age 85.

Mr. Schwartz worked in academia, government and private practice and was a well-known supporter of product liability reform.

Born and raised in New York, he graduated from Boston University and Columbia Law School. He became a law professor and later dean of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law.

In the mid-1970s he joined the U.S. Department of Commerce and contributed to the Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981.

Although divisions within the business community hindered comprehensive product liability reform, he and his allies achieved several victories, such as the enactment of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, which limited product liability for older aircraft, and the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, which transferred certain interstate class actions to federal instead of state courts.

In private practice, he worked first at Crowell & Moring and later at Shook, Hardy & Bacon, in Washington. He was also general counsel of the American Tort Reform Association.

Known for his gift for mimicry, callers to his office would often be treated to his voice impressions of Bill Clinton and other politicians.