A new report from Alliance for Consumers Action argues that activist networks and aligned legal groups are increasingly using lawsuits and settlements to secure policy changes they could not obtain through elections or legislation. The 19-page document, titled “Lawfare in America,” describes the trend as “woke lawfare” and highlights employment and environmental cases it says have produced broad, forward-looking requirements for companies and government entities.
A new report published by Alliance for Consumers Action argues that U.S. courtrooms are increasingly being used to pursue wide-ranging policy outcomes through strategic litigation, rather than to resolve narrow disputes.
Titled “Lawfare in America,” the 19-page report says lawsuits and resulting settlements or consent decrees are being used as tools to shape areas including corporate governance, employment practices, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. It describes this approach as “woke lawfare,” contending that some advocates use courts to pursue goals they have been unable to secure through legislatures.
In its executive summary, the report says settlement agreements in certain cases can require reforms that go beyond compensating for alleged harms or complying with existing law, pointing to provisions such as monitoring, reporting obligations, and mandated training or changes to internal policies.
As one example, the report cites the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s lawsuit against Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, filed in 2011 and resolved in 2017 through a settlement and consent decree. The EEOC said at the time that Bass Pro agreed to pay $10.5 million and implement additional measures including strengthening recruiting and hiring practices, affirmative outreach, updated policies, and training. The report argues those terms amounted to expansive diversity-related requirements.
The report also discusses environmental litigation against energy and manufacturing companies, saying such suits can seek abatement funds, injunctive relief, and industrywide changes through courts or settlements rather than legislation.
O.H. Skinner, identified in the report and related coverage as executive director of Alliance for Consumers, said, “Courtrooms across America have become weaponized by radical activists as part of an ongoing campaign to reshape American society and push political and social agendas onto consumers.”
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, said the litigation trend leaves “everyday consumers behind,” while Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, argued courts “were designed to resolve disputes, not to serve as engines for ideological policymaking.”
The report concludes that this type of litigation has already influenced corporate behavior and public policy and is unlikely to slow without a sustained response from policymakers or the courts.
