Assemblyman Don Wagner, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Discuss Abuse of Proposition 65

IRVINE, Calif., April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), a nonpartisan grassroots movement fighting against lawsuit abuse in California, joined Assemblyman Don Wagner, Vice Chair for Assembly Judiciary Committee, and small business attorney Lisa Salisbury today to discuss how abusive lawsuits alleging violations of California's Proposition 65 are hurting small businesses in California.

The California Attorney General's office recently published the 2011 Proposition 65 Executive Settlement Summary, which lists all settlements of Proposition 65 cases brought by private plaintiffs last year. The summary indicates that some attorneys settled dozens of Proposition 65 lawsuits for millions of dollars in 2011, while taking up to 90 percent of the settlements in attorney's fees.

"Business owners in California spend far too much time and money defending themselves from lawyers hoping to extort a windfall from them," said Assemblyman Don Wagner. "These lawsuits only serve to make it more difficult for businesses to operate and create jobs in California."

"I have defended numerous clients against abusive lawsuits alleging violations of Proposition 65," said Lisa Salisbury, ESQ. of the Salisbury Law Group. "The huge portions of the settlements taken as attorney's fees demonstrate that these lawsuits are motivated by one thing: greed."

The event was part of CALA's "Create Jobs, Not Lawsuits Tour," which brings together elected officials, community leaders, business owners, and concerned citizens throughout California to share personal stories about how lawsuit abuse harms job growth and the economy and what can be done to stop it.

"If California wants to expand its economy, we need to take action against this abuse," said Tom Scott, Executive Director of CALA. "Every time a business pays thousands of dollars to an attorney to settle an abusive lawsuit, there is less money for that business to spend on expansion and hiring new workers." 

California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the negative effects of lawsuit abuse and challenging those who abuse our legal system for personal gain.

SOURCE California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse