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SAWHORSE
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse host forum on ADA litigation
http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/?p=29063
More than a million lawsuits are filed in California each year, and, while some of them have merit, many are abusive and frivolous, and they damage the economy and hinder job growth. Those were some of the issues presented during a luncheon meeting sponsored by the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) Wednesday at The Boathouse on the Bay in Long Beach, featuring 70th Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell.
Maryann Marino, Southern California regional director for CALA, led the meeting and presented a few examples of people who have found that conducting business outside California has been easier than doing so within the state.
She said that when CALA celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2013, they reached out to Carl’s Jr. CEO Andy Puzder to be their featured speaker, and he agreed to do so. Marino said that, at the celebration, Puzder explained that it is easier for him to open new restaurants in Texas, China and Siberia than in California.
Marino then told of another businessman who owns a moving company in Irvine. She said for 30 years, he has been moving various businesses in and out of the state. “But for the last 20 years, he realized he has been moving those businesses out of California,” she said. “So, he started to survey those businesses as to why they’re leaving California for more pro-business-friendly states, and, time and time again, the reasons why they leave California is because of our high taxes, burdensome regulations and a legal environment stacked against business.”
Marino added that each year more than 1 million lawsuits are filed in the state but that number does not account for the demand letters that business owners receive without an actual lawsuit that forces them to spend thousands of dollars on issues of technical non-compliance.
“I know you may have experienced or may have heard of the abuse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), where business owners might not have the right parking-lot sign, the bathroom mirror might be too high, the toilet might be too low,” Marino said. “But do they get a notification that they have to get a parking-lot sign? Are they given a chance to fix the bathroom? Of course not. They’re outright sued for almost $4,000 for every issue of technical non-compliance– $12,000 just to make it go away.”
Marino also discussed Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Prop 65 requires the State to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Administered by Cal/EPA’s California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Act regulates substances officially listed by the State as having a 1 in 100,000 chance of causing cancer over a 70-year period or birth defects or other reproductive harm in two ways. The first statutory requirement of Proposition 65 prohibits businesses from knowingly discharging listed substances into drinking water sources or onto land where those substances can go into drinking-water sources. The second requirement prohibits businesses from knowingly exposing individuals to listed substances without providing a clear and reasonable warning.
Every year the Attorney General’s Office releases an annual summary of the private settlements of Prop 65 cases brought by private plaintiffs. The summary shows total penalties, attorney fees and other funds collected, and it includes a brief description of actions defendants were required to take to remedy alleged violations, according to CALA’s website.
“For years, CALA has been posting these annual summaries and discussing the outrageous attorney fees,” states the website. “Specifically, we have pointed out how a certain group of individuals and organizations collect huge sums of money by filing shakedown Prop 65 lawsuits up and down the state.”
According to CALA, in 2013, there were 352 settlements and total payments of $17,409,756. Of that, $17.4 million in non-contingent civil penalties accounted for 15 percent ($2,680,059), payments in lieu of penalty were 11 percent ($1,998,435), and attorney fees and costs were 73 percent ($12,731,262).
This week, State Attorney General Kamala Harris introduced a series of regulatory changes to Prop 65 to curb frivolous lawsuits.
“It creates less financial incentive for parties to bring litigation against businesses in ways that are not necessarily in the public interest,” Harris said.
In introducing Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell at Wednesday’s event, Marino heralded his presence there because of his committee involvement.
“He does represent the 70th Assembly District, which includes Long Beach, but, more importantly, he is a member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee,” Marino said. “So, all the important pieces of legislation that involve civil-justice reform are heard by his committee, and his committee will decide if that bill lives and moves on through the legislative process or dies.”
O’Donnell began by relating a recent story of how lawsuits have become so pervasive within society. He said that his family is having their home repainted and that his 10-year-old daughter asked if they would be able to sue if the workers get paint on the floor. He saw it as a “teachable moment” to explain to his young daughter that the first course of action is not to sue, but he said that it is indeed a part of our culture to resort to that action.
“She’s 10. She’s heard these things,” O’Donnell said. “So that was her natural reaction, and we know too that it’s others’ natural reaction. I think, in particular, the ADA situation is atrocious. I think it harms all parties, even those in the disabled community, the way the law is set up now, and I’ve advocated for changes at the state level. We’ve made a few changes this year. We’ll see where the governor goes with those changes. I think they’re in the right direction, but I don’t think they’re far enough, but it’s really hard in the state legislature to get a message to resonate with some of the folks there.”
During the open-comment period of the event, one attendee who owns a small business in Belmont Shore described how an individual had gone into several other small businesses along that corridor and filed demand letters against them for not being ADA-compliant. He said that the corporate stores, such as The Gap, were not targeted. “Not that they should be,” he added.
According to CALA, CEO Magazine has ranked California for 10 years in a row as being the worst state for business. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform ranked the state 47th in the nation in its courts’ “fairness and reasonableness” regarding business lawsuits.
“No wonder California’s unemployment rate is so much higher than the national average,” CALA’s website states. “This should be a wake-up call to California elected leaders that we need to create jobs, not lawsuits.”
For more information on CCALA, visit sickoflawsuits.com .
http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/?p=29063
More than a million lawsuits are filed in California each year, and, while some of them have merit, many are abusive and frivolous, and they damage the economy and hinder job growth. Those were some of the issues presented during a luncheon meeting sponsored by the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) Wednesday at The Boathouse on the Bay in Long Beach, featuring 70th Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell.
Maryann Marino, Southern California regional director for CALA, led the meeting and presented a few examples of people who have found that conducting business outside California has been easier than doing so within the state.
She said that when CALA celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2013, they reached out to Carl’s Jr. CEO Andy Puzder to be their featured speaker, and he agreed to do so. Marino said that, at the celebration, Puzder explained that it is easier for him to open new restaurants in Texas, China and Siberia than in California.
Marino then told of another businessman who owns a moving company in Irvine. She said for 30 years, he has been moving various businesses in and out of the state. “But for the last 20 years, he realized he has been moving those businesses out of California,” she said. “So, he started to survey those businesses as to why they’re leaving California for more pro-business-friendly states, and, time and time again, the reasons why they leave California is because of our high taxes, burdensome regulations and a legal environment stacked against business.”
Marino added that each year more than 1 million lawsuits are filed in the state but that number does not account for the demand letters that business owners receive without an actual lawsuit that forces them to spend thousands of dollars on issues of technical non-compliance.
“I know you may have experienced or may have heard of the abuse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), where business owners might not have the right parking-lot sign, the bathroom mirror might be too high, the toilet might be too low,” Marino said. “But do they get a notification that they have to get a parking-lot sign? Are they given a chance to fix the bathroom? Of course not. They’re outright sued for almost $4,000 for every issue of technical non-compliance– $12,000 just to make it go away.”
Marino also discussed Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Prop 65 requires the State to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Administered by Cal/EPA’s California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Act regulates substances officially listed by the State as having a 1 in 100,000 chance of causing cancer over a 70-year period or birth defects or other reproductive harm in two ways. The first statutory requirement of Proposition 65 prohibits businesses from knowingly discharging listed substances into drinking water sources or onto land where those substances can go into drinking-water sources. The second requirement prohibits businesses from knowingly exposing individuals to listed substances without providing a clear and reasonable warning.
Every year the Attorney General’s Office releases an annual summary of the private settlements of Prop 65 cases brought by private plaintiffs. The summary shows total penalties, attorney fees and other funds collected, and it includes a brief description of actions defendants were required to take to remedy alleged violations, according to CALA’s website.
“For years, CALA has been posting these annual summaries and discussing the outrageous attorney fees,” states the website. “Specifically, we have pointed out how a certain group of individuals and organizations collect huge sums of money by filing shakedown Prop 65 lawsuits up and down the state.”
According to CALA, in 2013, there were 352 settlements and total payments of $17,409,756. Of that, $17.4 million in non-contingent civil penalties accounted for 15 percent ($2,680,059), payments in lieu of penalty were 11 percent ($1,998,435), and attorney fees and costs were 73 percent ($12,731,262).
This week, State Attorney General Kamala Harris introduced a series of regulatory changes to Prop 65 to curb frivolous lawsuits.
“It creates less financial incentive for parties to bring litigation against businesses in ways that are not necessarily in the public interest,” Harris said.
In introducing Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell at Wednesday’s event, Marino heralded his presence there because of his committee involvement.
“He does represent the 70th Assembly District, which includes Long Beach, but, more importantly, he is a member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee,” Marino said. “So, all the important pieces of legislation that involve civil-justice reform are heard by his committee, and his committee will decide if that bill lives and moves on through the legislative process or dies.”
O’Donnell began by relating a recent story of how lawsuits have become so pervasive within society. He said that his family is having their home repainted and that his 10-year-old daughter asked if they would be able to sue if the workers get paint on the floor. He saw it as a “teachable moment” to explain to his young daughter that the first course of action is not to sue, but he said that it is indeed a part of our culture to resort to that action.
“She’s 10. She’s heard these things,” O’Donnell said. “So that was her natural reaction, and we know too that it’s others’ natural reaction. I think, in particular, the ADA situation is atrocious. I think it harms all parties, even those in the disabled community, the way the law is set up now, and I’ve advocated for changes at the state level. We’ve made a few changes this year. We’ll see where the governor goes with those changes. I think they’re in the right direction, but I don’t think they’re far enough, but it’s really hard in the state legislature to get a message to resonate with some of the folks there.”
During the open-comment period of the event, one attendee who owns a small business in Belmont Shore described how an individual had gone into several other small businesses along that corridor and filed demand letters against them for not being ADA-compliant. He said that the corporate stores, such as The Gap, were not targeted. “Not that they should be,” he added.
According to CALA, CEO Magazine has ranked California for 10 years in a row as being the worst state for business. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform ranked the state 47th in the nation in its courts’ “fairness and reasonableness” regarding business lawsuits.
“No wonder California’s unemployment rate is so much higher than the national average,” CALA’s website states. “This should be a wake-up call to California elected leaders that we need to create jobs, not lawsuits.”
For more information on CCALA, visit sickoflawsuits.com .