An op-ed by David Houston, Chairman of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, was featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal. He said:

"A recent report by my group, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, titled “Lessons in Lawsuits: The Impact of Litigation on California Schools,” found that Los Angeles Unified School District over the last three years spent almost $45 million in litigation costs. Last year alone, L.A. Unified’s litigation costs exceeded $13 million – an amount that could have paid the salaries of more than 200 teachers. Among 12 state school districts, litigation costs over three fiscal years exceeded $98.7 million, or enough funding to have provided 246,762 desktop computer packages.

"Litigation costs are not measured in dollars alone, but also in lost quality and efficiency. Studies have shown that our teachers are increasingly afraid to teach, our administrators afraid to do their jobs, and many education policies and practices are altered because of the threat of litigation."

To read the entire article click here.

Orange Juice blog featured the 12th annual Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse luncheon showcasing three champions against lawsuit abuse - Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, Assemblyman Curt Hagman and Orange County Register Columnist Jan Norman, who continuouly writes about the negative impact of unwarranted lawsuits on small business.

To see the entire invite and register for the October 6th luncheon at Prego Restauant in Irvine click here.

Tom Scott, Executive Director for California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, had a letter-to-the-editor printed in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat raising concerns about recent litigation settlements and the cost to the City of Petaluma.

In his letter, he said:

"If the litigants are genuinely concerned with the community’s interest, they should donate the entire award to a worthy cause such as the annual Veterans Day Parade, or Fourth of July celebration that is continually threatened by cuts to the city’s budget. They should not use it to finance their next lawsuit."

Click here to read his comments.

Long time CALA supporter and New Santa Ana blogger Art Pedroza reported on the CALA Lessons in Litigation study that revealed 12 of California’s school districts spent $98.7 million on lawsuits in just three fiscal years. He said:

"The report continues to say that the $98.7 million on lawsuits across the state could have paid the salaries of more than 1,530 teachers, purchased nearly 600 new school buses, more than 1.1 million school desks or 246,762 desktop computer packages.

In Santa Ana, litigation costs totaled $2.3 million just for fiscal year 2009. To put that number in perspective, the district could have bought 22,928 chalkboards.

“Our local school district has already had to severely slash its budget, due to state funding shortfalls,” said Art Pedroza, publisher of the New Santa Ana blog and a candidate for the SAUSD School Board. “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.”

Read the entire story on the New Santa Ana.

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.