California Was Just Named One of the Worst Judicial Hellholes in the Nation – Again

California was named one of the worst “Judicial Hellholes®” in the country again, coming in third place, according to a new report from the American Tort Reform Association. It is no wonder given that in California, an attorney can make a good living filing lawsuits where there have been no injuries:

The “Golden State” is the plaintiffs’ bar’s laboratory for finding innovative new ways to expand liability through both the courts and legislature. These novel theories of liability are burdening small businesses and bogging down the state’s economy. Even in areas where the U.S. Supreme Court has stepped in to rein in lawsuit abuse, the California Supreme Court has disregarded precedent and expanded liability.

From abusive Proposition 65 and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) litigation, to serial plaintiffs filing hundreds of lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the list of issues with the state’s civil justice system is endless. Rather than address the abuses and improve the litigation climate, state leaders seem to embrace the Judicial Hellholes® moniker.

“Uninjured serial plaintiffs file hundreds of meritless lawsuits targeting businesses, and ultimately, plaintiffs’ lawyers are the only people benefiting from the state’s unbalanced civil justice system,” Judicial Hellholes reported last year. And nothing has been fixed since then – or the year before, or the year before that.

One of the most egregious legal miscalculations is Proposition 65, “a well-intentioned law enacted in 1986, has become one of the plaintiffs’ bar’s favorite tools to exploit. Baseless Prop-65 litigation unjustly burdens companies that do business in California.”

Through October 18, 2023, there were 797 Prop-65settlements for a total of more than $18.9 million with $16.68 million (88%) going towards attorneys’ fees and costs, Judicial Hellholes reported. “A troublesome part of the law allows private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys to sue on behalfof the state and collect a portion of the monetary penalties and settlements, creating an incentive for the plaintiffs’ bar to pursue these types of lawsuits. Law firms identify serial plaintiffs who are willing to file multiple lawsuits despite not suffering any injuries or harm.”

How they doing it

Each year, plaintiffs’ lawyers send thousands of notices to companies threatening Prop-65 lawsuits and demanding a settlement. Food and beverage companies are among the prime targets. Over the last decade (2012-2022), what are known as Prop-65 “60-day notice” filings increased from 908 in 2012 to 3,170 in 2022, a rise of 250%. These notices are often sent by organizations or individuals to companies asserting a Prop-65 violation, threatening suit, and demanding labeling changes and monetary settlement. As of November 1, 3,382 had been filed in 2023, already exceeding the prior year’s total.

Non-injury lawsuits

“Enacted in 2004, California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has become known as the ‘Sue Your Boss‘ law. While its initial purpose was to protect workers, it has done little to help them. The plaintiffs’ bar has been the true beneficiary.”

“PAGA authorizes ‘aggrieved’ employees to file lawsuits seeking civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for labor code violations. Many PAGA lawsuits revolve around technical nitpicks, such as an employer’s failure to print its address on employees’ pay stubs, even though the address was printed on the paychecks themselves.”

California regained its status as the plaintiffs’ bar’s favorite food court. It beat out New York for the most “no-injury” consumer class action filings targeting the food and beverage industry. About one third of the nation’s lawsuits taking issue with food labeling – 70 of 214 – were filed in California.

These lawsuits often claim that some aspect of a product’s packaging or marketing misleads consumers, even though it is unlikely to have made a difference in anyone’s decision to buy a product.”

Climate Change Litigation

“California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined efforts to pin costs associated with global climate change on the oil and gas industry. In his 135-page complaint filed in September, he alleges that the state has incurred substantial financial burdens in combatting extreme weather, droughts, rising sea-levels and other climate-related events that are “destroying people’s lives and livelihoods,” and that the industry should pay these costs because they allegedly created a public nuisance and engaged in misleading marketing.”

California courts have also made it more difficult to fend off these abusive lawsuits.

Prepare yourself for a trip to the vomitorium as you read the entire report.