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Signatures are being
gathered in California for an ballot initiative to stop a major
abuse of punitive damage law – lawsuits attempting to punish
manufacturers even when they’ve follow the law in making their
product.
These lawsuits might
be termed “super shakedowns.” They are based on schemes to stir
up public fear, play on animosity toward big business, and take
advantage of vague punitive damage definitions to present a
threat of a maxi-multi million dollar damage award and extort a
huge settlement from a company that in fact has played by the
rules.
The California
initiative says simply that a company making a product that has
received government approval or met government standards cannot
be accused of bad behavior meriting punitive damages if the
product later causes harm. People injured would still be
compensated for their losses – it’s just the trial lawyers’ hunt
for their punitive damage pot of gold that would be reined in.
If a company misleads
regulators at any point during the approval and monitoring
process, the punitive damage protection is lost.
Focus groups and
polling tell us that when the proposal is explained to voters,
and they hear arguments both pro and con, a solid majority
support the idea. This is very similar to the responses we
received in polling preparing for the successful 2004 campaign
to enact California’s Proposition 64 (which stopped private
lawyers bringing shakedown lawsuits under California’s unfair
competition law).
Voters want to curb
runaway punitive damage awards and stop the threat of punitive
damages being used to shake down defendants – as long as there
is a ‘safety net’ so those truly injured or harmed can have
their day in court and recover compensatory damages.
The team that made
Proposition 64 a winner is setting the stage for an election win
to enact this important “government standards defense” proposal.
A committee “Californians for Sensible Lawsuit Reform,” has been
set up to raise funds and manage the campaign to enact this
“Safer Products Initiative.”
The information below
explains the problem, solution, path to a win in more detail.
To View information
on
Californians for Sensible Lawsuit Reform Click Here
John H. Sullivan
President
Civil Justice
Association of California
Co-Chair
Californians to Stop
Shakedown Lawsuits - Yes on Proposition 64
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