Trial Lawyers and Tort Reform

* Thank you for your expose on the strong-arm tactics employed by the powerful California Trial Lawyers Assn. to deny Californians the chance to vote next November on the proposed Lawyer Accountability Act of 1994 (Dec. 27). The biggest losers are California consumers, taxpayers, job seekers and businesses. Indeed, four out of five Californians support civil justice reform, and believe that the lawyers are to blame for the current abusive liability system.

The economic toll of lawsuit abuse is staggering. In 1992 alone, California’s lawyers filed 805,000 civil lawsuits--or one new lawsuit for every 39 Californians. Unwarranted litigation drives up the cost of goods, services and insurance premiums for all consumers, stifles the development of new products such as AIDS vaccines, destroys jobs and opportunity, reduces competitiveness, harms the state’s economic climate, and burdens taxpayers.

Californians are poised to put a halt to lawsuit abuse. After we unveiled the initiative, we received an outpouring of support, not only from prominent opinion leaders, but especially from individuals and small business people, who cannot simply pass on the tremendous costs of the tort system. In addition, larger businesses and the insurance industry, the “deep pocket” targets of predatory lawyers, naturally support our efforts to reform California’s out-of-control civil liability system.

The public overwhelmingly realizes that its interests are threatened--not protected--by the excesses of the current civil liability system, which is controlled by and for the lawyers. It is, therefore, little wonder that the lawyers’ lobby is so relieved to have derailed public debate on meaningful reform--at least for now.

BARRY KEENE, President

Assn. for California Tort Reform

Sacramento

* Pretty diabolical, that preemptive strike of California lawyers against Farmers Insurance--but quite in character. The story goes that God and Satan decided to build a freeway between heaven and hell (avoiding South Pasadena, no doubt). Later God billed Satan for half of the construction. Satan refused to pay. God said, “I’ll sue.” Satan answered, “Where will you get the lawyers?”

GEORGE W. FEINSTEIN

Altadena

* Well, it looks as if the last of the robber barons, better known as members of the California Trial lawyers Assn., have won another battle. The business climate in California will remain bad and the taxpayers will still have to pay for their greedy appetites. Oh, they will say that they have no negative effect on jobs, but when money goes into their pockets, that money is no longer available for attracting business or investing in job growth.

They also represent the last vestiges of slavery, i.e., the legal sanction of the punishment of one individual by another individual. Punishment should be the sole reserve of the state. In other words, punitive damages should be set by, extracted by and paid to the state.

RAY ABERNATHY

San Diego