Henry vetoes lawsuit reform bill

Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed lawsuit reform legislation he says conflicts with an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision on a similar bill that the court found unconstitutional.

Henry issued the veto on Friday, two days after the measure received final passage in the Oklahoma House.

The bill would require injured people to obtain certificates of legal merit from experts in order to file professional malpractice lawsuits. Henry said he had no choice but to veto the bill because the state's highest court had already struck down a similar statute.

In 2006, justices ruled that the cost associated with certificates of merit placed an undue financial burden on citizens seeking access to justice.

The governor says the bill he vetoed was in direct conflict with that Supreme Court ruling.