Litigation Law The perception that California does not offer a business-friendly environment is due, in part, to a legal system that is inefficient, expensive, and slow to respond to genuine needs. California law offers a litigant’s buffet in the areas of labor and business liability law; particularly wrongful termination, discrimination, and product liability claims. Many small businesses in the Coachella Valley have fallen victim to these superfluous laws. As a result, employers and their insurers often face the painful choice of settling frivolous lawsuits early as an economic tradeoff to mounting a more expensive—though usually successful—legal defense. Civil litigation reform is critical to economic success and protecting our small business community.
Positions LL-1: Supports reforms to the legal system to discourage and eliminate frivolous lawsuits, including reasonable limits upon recoveries, particularly in punitive damages and non-economic damages, and prevailing party recovery of litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, in cases of questionable merit. LL-2: Supports use of arbitration and mediation for prompt and cost-effective dispute resolution in appropriate circumstances, including employment, health care, property, and automobile accident cases. LL-3: Supports construction dispute litigation reform and other legal strategies to encourage settlement of issues between builders and homeowners. LL-4: Supports placing reasonable limits on attorneys’ fees and non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. LL-5: Supports appellate review of rulings granting class action certification, similar to established law providing for appellate review of rulings denying class certification. LL-6: Supports preservation of reforms enacted through California’s Unfair Practice Act, intended to reduce excessive litigation and abusive lawsuits targeted at California businesses; LL-7: Supports reforms to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) legislation that encourages access rather than litigation. LL-8: Opposes attempts to publicize confidential business information obtained in the “discovery” process of a lawsuit.
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