To borrow from former Governor Pete Wilson, I concur that,

"The risk -takers who create Orange County's jobs are fully prepared to face the uncertainties of the marketplace and even the hazards of fire, flood or earthquake. But they can't survive the ruinous cost of lawsuit abuse."

     Orange County's amazing parks, services, museums, arts, entertainment, and thriving economy make our state one of the greatest places to live.

     But there's nothing like a big class action suit to throw a wet blanket on our quality of life. There's a monster lurking here, threatening our economic stability. Class action lawsuits are about to lunge forth with a vengeance.

     We are all well aware that a litigious environment unnerves businesses. Abusive class action lawsuits, which are nothing but a get rich quick scheme by a few class action lawsuit attorneys, drive up costs on businesses as well as consumers, and have even forced some companies to close their doors.

     Orange County businesses provide jobs and tax revenue, both of which are highly necessary for our state to beat with its current economic pulse. Class actions and the costs associated with them can have a detrimental effect on our economy because many of the businesses targeted by class action attorneys are an integral part of our community. Class actions also threaten you and I, the consumer, in a number of ways:

   Lawyers win, but you lose. Whether it's over ingredients in breakfast cereals, software packages, or health plans, class action lawyers are using these suits as a way to reap huge incomes while plaintiffs named in these suits get coupons or pocket change.

   Class actions increase your costs for goods and services, due to the "trickle-down" effect. The costs paid by businesses to defend themselves against class action lawsuits will be passed on to you, the consumer.

   You could be part of a class action lawsuit without your consent. Lawyers will try to get as many plaintiffs as they can, but they don't have to even ask the plaintiffs' permission. It's up to us to "opt out" of a class action lawsuit.

Whether it's lawsuits against HMOs, agricultural industries, high-tech companies or manufacturers, our city's reputation is at stake. Even more frightening is the impending threat to our economy. If we allow this type of litigation to flourish here, all the parks, services and culture we have won't matter when the fear of litigation forces businesses to leave our state and take their jobs and tax revenue with them.

It's time to stop the class action monster. Make sure your representatives in Congress know how you feel, and demand that they act to create common sense reforms that will ensure our civil justice system is used for justice, not greed.

You can call our OC CALA office at 714-259-8400 to find the local telephone number of your federal representative now.

Although class action suits were intended to help victims with small claims, in many such suits they end up with little value while their lawyers end up with millions.

  Two lawyers who brought a suit against a shampoo company on behalf of 90 consumers secured a major victory - for themselves. All 90 people in the class received a letter in the mail offering each plaintiff a full refund. The lawyers received a check from the company for $225,000, contingent on the fact that they did not tell their clients about the arrangement and they did not try to sue the shampoo company in the future.
- Washington Post, "Cleaning Up Behind The Scenes," January 25, 1999

  In a class action suit against CheeriosT cereal over a food additive with no evidence of injury to any consumers, lawyers were paid nearly $2 million in fees, which works out to approximately $2,000 per hour. Consumers in the class received coupons for a free box of cereal.
- Business Today, "Civil Justice and the Great Train Robbery," Fall 1997

  In a class action lawsuit brought against manufacturers of computer monitors, the resulting settlement gave each class member a $13 rebate on new merchandise or $6 cash in the year 2000. The attorneys received almost $6 million in legal fees.
-Washington Post, "Class Actions' Big Winners: The Lawyers, Huge Fees Contrasted With Plaintiff Benefits," May 25, 1997.

Background
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) was formed in the fall of 1993 as a California corporation to combat the current bureaucracy that perpetuates the state's costly avalanche of lawsuits. This grassroots organization was formed in response to a civil justice system that encourages both people to sue and lawyers to take advantage of victims. Our leadership is a group of small business and professional people from the greater Orange County area who are all united in our passion for meaningful reform of an out-of-control civil litigation system. We believe that tort reform has not been adequately addressed by our lawmakers because of the influence of special interest groups on the legislative process. We feel the public must become engaged in the debate over legal reform before California can solve it's lawsuit crisis.

Mission Statement
CALA's mission is to educate the public about the impact of lawsuit abuse on consumers and California's economy, thereby creating a climate for change.

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is a nonprofit corporation. Contributions or gifts to CALA are not deductible as charitable contributions. However, they may be deductible as a business expense as indicated under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Checks should be made payable to Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA). You may also donate with your credit card via PayPal. Thank you.

© 1993-2007 Orange County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse