Arizona earned a score of 70.8 out of 100 in a new ranking of state litigation climates released Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. 

Arizona ranked 17th among the 50 states in the lawsuit climate analysis. That compares to the state’s ranking of 25th two years ago, according to the report.

Illinois had the worst score for state litigation climates: 59.6.

The 2019 Lawsuit Climate Survey questioned more than 1,300 corporate attorneys, litigators and other executives from firms that bring in $100 million or more in yearly revenue. The responses were used to determine perceptions of the business community toward state legal systems.

The study asked respondents about their views on a number of civil litigation topics, such as the enforcement of rational venue rules, disposition of class-action lawsuits, damages awards, trial judges’ proficiency and jury performance.

Average scores have risen significantly since the survey was initiated 17 years ago. This year’s average was 68.3, compared to an average overall score of 52.7 in 2002, the report states.

The analysis also identified the five local jurisdictions with the worst lawsuit climates. They are Chicago / Cook County; Los Angeles; San Francisco; New York City; and Jefferson County, Mo.

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Which States Have the Fairest Litigation Systems?

Current Rank	State	Overall Score on 1-to-100 Scale	2017 Rank
1	Delaware	76.3	11
2	Maine	73.8	9
3	Connecticut	73.8	16
4	Wyoming	73.1	8
5	Alaska	73.1	6
6	North Dakota	72.6	17
7	Montana	72.5	27
8	Nebraska	72.3	7
9	Idaho	72.2	3
10	South Dakota	72.0	1
11	Vermont	71.7	2
12	Virginia	71.3	10
13	Wisconsin	71.2	20
14	Oklahoma	71.2	31
15	Hawaii	71.1	23
16	North Carolina	70.9	33
17	Arizona	70.8	25
18	New Hampshire	70.7	5
19	Utah	70.7	12
20	Minnesota	70.7	4
21	Colorado	70.7	35
22	New Mexico	70.6	32
23	Iowa	70.6	13
24	Rhode Island	70.5	24
25	Oregon	69.9	21
26	Washington	69.8	28
27	Maryland	69.7	19
28	Massachusetts	69.6	14
29	Nevada	69.5	37
30	Arkansas	69.5	36
31	Indiana	68.9	15
32	Kansas	68.8	18
33	Michigan	68.8	22
34	Tennessee	68.3	30
35	Ohio	67.7	26
36	New York	67.7	29
37	South Carolina	67.6	34
38	Texas	67.1	39
39	Pennsylvania	66.6	38
40	Kentucky	66.5	42
41	Georgia	66.1	40
42	Alabama	65.6	43
43	New Jersey	65.4	41
44	Missouri	64.4	49
45	West Virginia	63.3	45
46	Florida	62.3	46
47	Mississippi	61.9	44
48	California	60.2	47
49	Louisiana	60.0	50
50	Illinois	59.6	48

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform; Harris Poll