Maryann Maloney Marino was interviewed for an article in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal about AB 298, a class action reform bill that recently died in committee. She noted that giving class-action defendents "immediate appeal" rights would streamline the judical process, saying:

“AB 298 was a sensible proposal,” said CALA spokesperson, Maryann Maloney Marino. “Class action certification involves actions that effect a large number of people and are very expensive to the parties, to the court system, and to the citizens of the state.”

According to Marino, California has a reputation among some in the nation’s business community as a “class-action hell hole.”

For that reason, she said, the death of the bill is a blow to the state budget and the economy.

“…Immediate appeal is sensible and beneficial because it allows the parties to ensure, through appeal, that the order was correct,” said Marino. “And it also allows the Court of Appeal to correct errors and develop the law relating to class action certification.”

San Diego Regional Director Lorie Zapf appeared on KUSI to discuss the implications of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Watch the video here.

San Diego Regional Director Lorie Zapf had a commentary published in this week's San Diego Business Journal about the well-intentioned but flawed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which went into effect on February 10, 2009. In it, she notes:

"Billions of dollars — billions — of perfectly safe toys, clothing, books, bikes, and other children’s products are being taken off store shelves and thrown away, small businesses have been forced to close their doors forever, nonprofits and charities are being hurt, jobs are being lost — all in the name of helping consumers.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act sounds like a worthy law and was well intentioned, but it has turned into an economic train wreck for hundreds of thousands of small businesses, nonprofits and charities — including some in San Diego."

California CALA Executive Director Tom Scott was interviewed for an article about trial lawyers tactics for surviving tough economic times. He noted that the trial bar is trying to capitalize on the new leadership in the White House and increased majorities in Congress, saying:

"You can see that everywhere at the federal level, whether it is the recent Wyeth decision or arbitration. And that does not even touch how they have been moving against the private sector with class actions," he said.

Scott noted that in California, trial lawyers' legislative agenda seems be on hold pending what happens in the District of Columbia.

"The bottom-line is that trial lawyers are about money and profit. It is not about victims. Victims are simply a vehicle for them to attain their financial goals," he said.

San Diego Regional Director Lorie Zapf had a letter-to-the-editor published in today's San Diego Union Tribune in response to their editorial published last week on coupon settlements in class action lawsuits. In the letter, Lorie notes:

"The class actions that end in coupon settlements are usually contrived, manufactured lawsuits created by personal injury lawyers to enrich themselves, not help the consumer. The lawyers rack up millions of dollars in fees and leave the consumer with a near worthless coupon, in which they generally have to spend more money with the company that allegedly wronged them in the first place in order to realize any benefit."

San Diego Regional Director Lorie Zapf's opinion-editorial on class action coupons was published today on the online site, San Diego News Room. In the piece, she writes:

At some point, we've all gotten one in the mail-- a notice of our inclusion in a class action lawsuit, details of which are laid out in the fine print. To join the lawsuit (and the presumed award), we are asked to do nothing. To opt out (and get nothing), we must fill out and mail in paperwork.

If this sounds backwards, it is because these mailings are handled by plaintiffs' attorneys. The more plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit, the more money the attorneys get. Plaintiffs' attorneys are counting on people to do what the vast majority of us do-- set the letter aside and forget about it, or simply throw it away.

By doing nothing, you've allowed yourself to be used in a lawsuit for a product or service you may not have ever purchased and from which you most likely never suffered any damages.  By not opting out, you are adding to the law firm's total award.