Lawsuits

One of your readers wrote (Jan. 29) to say that so-called lawsuit abuse is driving businesses from California “in droves!” and that they are relocating to business-friendly states, presumably to avoid frivolous lawsuits. This totally unsubstantiated statement is then used as a reason for tort-reform laws.

There is absolutely no evidence that companies are leaving the state in droves or in any significant number for any reason whatsoever, certainly not to set up shop where the laws favor business interests over the rights of consumers. From all reports, California’s economy is booming. Unemployment is down and there is a generally optimistic feeling as we enter 1995.

If anti-consumer legislation is passed and companies are no longer accountable for injuries caused by defective products or unsafe working conditions, the primary beneficiaries will be the insurance companies and the rest of us will suffer.

CHARLES J. MAZURSKY

President, Consumer Attorneys Assn.

Los Angeles