Maryann Maloney Marino's comments on "How the Vaccine Industry Got So Unhealthy" were published in the Orange County Register.

In her letter-to-the-editor, she said:

"The claim linking whooping cough vaccines to brain damage is just one example of junk science that lawyers have used in costly litigation against vaccine manufacturers. Instead of putting their money into research and development of life-saving vaccines, these companies have been forced to spend a fortune in the courtroom and even been driven out of business."

Click here to read her comments.

OC Weekly featured the CALA Lessons in Litigation study in a blog titled, "Local School Districts Caught Up in New Study Showing Millions Blown on Litigation."   

The story highlighted:

​"The Peabody-winning educational program South Park aired an episode the other night that took lawsuits against public school districts to despicably hilarious new heights. The real-life cartoon plays out publicly--and locally--in the Capistrano, Santa Ana and Long Beach unified school districts. ​

The nonprofit, nonpartisan California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse today released a report on litigation costs to those and nine other school districts across the state that found, in just three fiscal years, they spent $98.7 million on lawsuits.

The number in Santa Ana is $2.3 million. That's how much SAUSD spent on litigation costs just in fiscal year 2009. "To put that number in perspective, the district could have bought 22,928 chalkboards," reads the CALA statement, which also quotes Orange Juice blogger and SAUSD school board candidate Art Pedroza.

"Our local school district has already had to severely slash its budget, due to state funding shortfalls," he says. "There are times when lawsuits are necessary, but frivolous suits do nothing more than hurt our students--we need to take steps to stop abusive lawsuits and keep our funding in the classrooms, where it belongs."

You can read the entire blog entry here.

The Bakersfield Californian reported on the CALA Lessons in Litigation Study that found twelve California public school districts spent nearly $100 million in the last three years on lawsuits, including $2.3 million in the Kern High School District, money that could have gone toward educating students.

In the article, Central California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Leadership Committee Member and Kern High School District Trustee Ken Mettler said, " We can't even afford to bus our kids to school and yet we're forced to spend more than $2 million in litigation costs in just three years. It seems to me we should be looking at ways to get our money out of the courtroom and back into the classroom where it belongs."

Click here to read the entire article.

CALA regional director Maryann Marino was quoted in the Merced Sun Star about the CALA "Lessons in Litigation Report" and Merced Union High School District's spending on lawsuits. Here is what she had to say:

"Merced Union High School District was one of 12 school districts across the state featured in a report released by California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) this month about the impact of litigation on California's schools. The total litigation costs for all 12 school districts mentioned was $98.7 million -- a number CALA would like to see reduced. The statewide anti-lawsuit abuse organization revealed that the Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) spent $884,309 on outside counsel costs between 2006 and 2009. Many of the lawsuits filed are justified, but CALA is speaking out against those that are filed to pursue greed and not justice, according to the organization. Maryann Marino, regional director for CALA, said when unwarranted lawsuits are brought forward, everyone loses. "Hopefully, laws will be passed to curb unwarranted lawsuits," she added."

Click here to read the entire story.

CALA Co-Chair David Houston's editorial touting reforming the civil justice system as a way to turn California's economy around was published in the Santa Monica Daily Press. He said: 

"More than 600,000 of Los Angeles County's workforce is now unemployed due to our national economic crisis. Public tax revenues have plummeted, critical services have been slashed, family incomes have stagnated and the business climate is depressed. While we struggle to find a comprehensive solution to these economic woes, one obvious, critical remedy is consistently ignored: civil litigation reform. California's burdensome and biased litigation climate discourages new start-up businesses, slows the growth of our existing small companies and threatens millions of jobs at the very moment we need them the most.

California has one of the worst litigation climates in the nation. Pointless, wasteful and unnecessary civil lawsuits are immensely expensive. Unnecessary civil actions drive up prices, slow the growth of small companies, kill jobs, and push new business startups out of our state. In an economy as depressed as ours, we simply cannot afford to waste critical resources or hinder the business recovery. Right now, we need jobs, not lawsuits." 

CALA San Diego Local Leadership Council Member George Coles had a letter-to-the-editor published in the San Diego Union-Tribune about the importance of judges. Here's what he had to say:

"Businesses take note of a state’s legal climate when deciding where to expand or locate. With California’s reputation favoring plaintiff lawyers over small business, it’s more important than ever for voters to make informed choices for judges – and state lawmakers for that matter. In a recent statewide survey, two out of three California small business owners said they would be able to create more jobs if they were better protected against abusive lawsuits. I encourage voters to consider judicial candidates a top priority."