David Houston, CALA Co-Chair's commentary "Lawsuit Happy Climate Needs Fix" was recently published in the Los Angeles Daily News. Here is what he had to say:

Vexatious litigants often target small businesses where the cost of a legal defense far exceeds the cost of a settlement. At least one judge has called such actions a "racket." These suits are generally based on technical violations where there is little evidence of any harm, and no one is hurt.

When there are no court challenges from defendants, vexatious plaintiffs are free to file dozens of cases every day without ever having to prove actual injuries or go before a court. Sadly, such settlements mean that many actual violations go uncorrected, allowing repeat vexatious litigants to go from one target to the next without ever being challenged and without actually improving anything except their own personal fortunes.

Current law allows a judge to label somebody a vexatious litigant if the person is representing himself. We must close this loophole to allow judges to designate vexatious litigants even if they are represented by an attorney. Then, they would have to ask the court for special permission before filing more lawsuits.

Legal reforms such as curbing vexatious litigants can be a spark that helps drive California's economic recovery forward. We need more jobs, not more lawsuits.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.