From Our Blog

Whoever invented the class action lawsuit is probably sipping martinis on his or her 200 foot yacht. The class action gimmick seems to be the lawsuit of choice and it is earning trial lawyers a pretty penny under the guise of consumer protection.

Recently, Carol Williams with the Los Angeles Times wrote an article titled, "Small Cases are Big Business in California Courtrooms". The main premise of the article was to point out that lawyers reap huge rewards in petty class action lawsuits. She cited the recent Nutella class action where a woman was surprised to learn that Nutella was full of fat and sugar and was not exactly the good breakfast she thought she was feeding her 4 year old.

So this mother files a lawsuit last February on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of consumers who have been similarly “deceived” by Ferrero USA Inc., which has decided to settle the suit. Now, the lawyers declined to disclose the details of the suit, but I bet you it will go something like this: The mom will get probably $5,000 for filing the suit as a member of the class, you and I will get a dollar off coupon on our next purchase of Nutella (whoohoo!) and our dear friends the trial lawyers will get millions.

So who is actually winning here? The Consumer Attorneys of Califonia would have you believe that the consumers are winning and that they are the knight in shining armor that has come to save them.

Seriously? What hokum. The class action is a plain and simple scam and the consumer will always get the short end of the stick. The trial lawyers know it and I think the vast majority of Californians know it too.

And yet despite numerous attempts to rein in the abuses of class actions, nothing is being done in California to stop it. Last year, Assemblyman Brian Nestande introduced AB 271, which would give defendants the same right of appeal that plaintiffs have on class action certification, but this common sense reform did not get past the first policy committee of the state Assembly.

Class action reform is needed so we can stop trial lawyer avarice (that is a nice word for greed).

We are back in full swing here in Sacramento and it would be really nice to see some serious legal reform implemented. Look, I get it, the trial lawyers have spent millions on lobbying making sure their playground is undisturbed, but the people in California are ready for legal reform and they are tired of not being listened too. I know the Legislature understands that lawsuit abuse hurts California since they were able to rally last year to pass Assemblyman Henry Perea's AB 1219.

So here is the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Legal Reform Wish List for 2012:

1. Stop AB 1207 by Assembly member Furutani, which would create more lawsuits by removing the statute of limitations related to the exposure to a pollutant or hazardous substance. This has already been granted, thanks to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

2. Pass and implement legitimate ADA lawsuit reform.

3. Pass class action reform similar to AB 271 by Assemblyman Nestande, which would give defendants the same right of appeal that plaintiffs have on class action certification.

4. If AB 1062, which would weaken arbitration, by Assemblyman Dickinson is revived from the inactive file, defeat it.

5. Attorney General Kamala Harris has to stop shakedown Prop. 65 lawsuits.

6. Stop cutting the funding of the California courts. Our court system is still reeling from cuts last year, and more cuts would only reduce access to the courts even more. 

7. Real action from the California Commission on Disability Access toward stopping abusive ADA lawsuits.

8. Before California voters choose who to vote for, they ask their candidates what their position is on legal reform.

9. Do not allow AB 52 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer to be pulled from the Inactive File. AB 52 would create new lawsuits by allowing lawyers to sue as "interveners" on behalf of the general public whether they have a client who has been harmed or not - a recipe for abusive claims.

10. Support and pass Congressman Dan Lungren's HR 3356, the ACCESS Act of 2011, which would help facilitate ADA compliance by requiring plaintiffs who intend to sue businesses for ADA violations to provide notice of ADA violations to the business they are targeting.

These are just a few items that would help improve California’s business climate, attract more investment and spur job creation. If the Legislature and the people of California do not prioritize legal reform, California will continue to be known as a place that is not friendly to business. When businesses move or do not locate here that means one thing - no jobs. And if you have not figured it out yet, it is all about jobs.

CALA in the News