Sealed Records in Settlements

Barry Siegel’s excellent article (“Dilemmas of Settling in Secret,” April 5) raised the vitally important question about the practice of “sealing” court records as a condition of settling lawsuits.

Secrecy agreements--the sealing of court records to protect the information contained within--have become more commonplace over the last few years as defendants in civil lawsuits demand that files be closed to the public to prevent public exposure. As a result, there have been numerous instances where critical safety information on hazardous materials or dangerous products is locked away from public scrutiny.

The Pfizer heart valve, for example, was taken off the market in 1986 after causing the sudden and painful death of more than 150 people. Pfizer has paid millions of dollars in settlements in return for secrecy agreements covering safety records and medical reports. The defective valve is still implanted in more than 50,000 people, many of whom have still never heard of any problems with the device.

Ford Motor Co. recently offered a multimillon-dollar settlement to a grieving father who lost one young son due to an accident involving inadequate seat belts and left another son permanently disabled. All the father had to do was make a vow to never discuss the issues in the tragedy.

The California Trial Lawyers are co-sponsoring SB 711 by Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) which would prohibit secrecy agreements in California courts. For the sake of all California consumers this legislation deserves to become a law.

IAN HERZOG, President

California Trial Lawyers Assn.