In every session of the California Legislature there’s an effort to rein in rampant lawsuit abuse by the trial lawyers as well as an effort to simply make it more profitable. Dan Walters chronicles the latest installment:
The state Assembly’s dominant Democrats had a choice Thursday: help the thousands of small-business owners who have been clobbered by extortionate lawsuits or lawsuit threats under the state’s broad unfair competition law, or stand with personal injury attorneys who are among the Democrats’ most reliable campaign contributors.
The attorneys, to the utter surprise of no one, emerged as victors in a showdown hearing of the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
This was an especially grim reminder of the sentiments of Judiciary Committee chair Ellen Corbett, one of the least-principled members of the body.