FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: PETER BYLSMA
PHONE: 310-795-8532
December 14, 2006
LOS ANGELES, CA - Californians have received yet another warning about the state's lawsuit abuse problem. For the fourth consecutive year, California courts are on the Watch List of the American Tort Reform Foundation's (ATRF) "Judicial Hellholes" report, a ranking of the worst courts in the United States.
According to the report, the "Watch List," is a list of areas that have been cited in previous Judicial Hellhole reports, or new areas that are being closely monitored due to growing concerns or negative developments in the litigation environment. Los Angeles and San Francisco legal systems are cited for their bad verdicts and their reputations as "dumping grounds for cases that can and should be heard elsewhere."
"It's clear and unfortunate that Los Angeles courts have gained a reputation for favorable verdicts and excessive settlements," said Peter Bylsma, executive director of Los Angeles Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. "Greedy personal injury lawyers from California and other states take advantage of this and we will all pay the cost of abusive lawsuits."
Other warning signs of California's lawsuit abuse problem include:
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California's liability system was ranked 44th in the nation by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, 2006 Harris State Liability Systems Ranking Study, for the fifth year in a row. In addition, Los Angeles was named the least fair and reasonable litigation environment in the entire country.
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More than a third of Californians summoned for jury service either fail to respond or request to be excused from service, according to a study by the University of Southern California Law School.
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California regularly makes national news for the absurdity of its lawsuits. In the most recent example, a Los Angeles woman filed a lawsuit against Kraft because its guacamole didn't contain as much avocados as she thought it should.
"As California lawmakers are making their list of new legislation and checking it twice, let's hope they recognize the implications of this study and propose meaning reforms to fix our legal system," said Bylsma.
The complete report from the American Tort Reform Foundation is available at: http://www.atra.org/reports/hellholes/
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is a nonprofit, grassroots public education organization dedicated to serving as a watchdog over the legal system and those who would seek to abuse it for undeserved gain. For more information, visit www.losangelescala.org.
