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A series of large jury verdicts this year in Missouri has attracted the ire of the American Tort Reform Foundation.

The group ranked St. Louis as No. 8 on its “Judicial Hellholes” list, released on Dec. 5. The annual list by the nonprofit arm of the American Tort Reform Association included a total of 10 states, cities or courts it deems too accommodating of lawyers and too hostile to business.

In particular, the report cited several “nuclear” verdicts of $10 million or more that the group alleged were driven by “junk science” and by plaintiffs’ attorneys’ practice of suggesting large amounts for juries to award.

“Much-needed civil justice reform legislation has stalled in Missouri for the past few years, and the legislature must prioritize reforms to address the lawsuit abuse bogging down business in the state,” the national business lobby said.

Although the list faults “St. Louis,” ATRA’s examples of allegedly problematic verdicts mostly occurred in St. Louis County, which is generally considered less plaintiff-friendly than the neighboring city of St. Louis. Among the cases cited: a $745 million award in September to the parents of a woman who was killed by a driver who had passed out after abusing nitrous oxide; a $15 million award for the death of a man who fell from a barge; an $11 million verdict (reduced to $7.7 million for comparative fault) for a man who shot himself in the eye with a pneumatic staple gun; and a $10 million award for a man with lingering injuries from a car accident.

The report also attacked asbestos cases in St. Louis, singling out a $20 million verdict last year in St. Louis Circuit Court. It also criticized a series of cases involving Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, although it noted that most of the cases alleging that the product causes cancer have ended in defense verdicts.

This year’s Hellholes list put three jurisdictions in its No. 1 spot, with equal displeasure directed at the state of Georgia and courts in Pennsylvania. Also making the list were Cook County, Illinois; California; New York City; South Carolina’s asbestos docket; Lansing, Michigan; and Louisiana.