Attorneys Worried Over Frivolous Lawsuits
Jump to full article: San Fernando Valley (CA) Business Journal, 2009-06-08
Author: Thom Senzee San Fernando Valley Business Journal Staff
Intro: Some attorneys are warning that California businesses may want to brace for the effects of a recent state Supreme Court decision that could "open the floodgates" to frivolous and nuisance class-action lawsuits.
Proposition 64 was a 2004 ballot measure aimed at reining in such lawsuits. But, according to some, the 4-3 California Supreme Court decision against tobacco companies in the latest round of class-actions against them appears to have negated some of that proposition's intent.
After years in which California had what corporate defense attorneys characterized as the most liberal class-action standing requirements in the nation, many believed the passage of Proposition 64 would usher in an era of fewer so-called frivolous lawsuits. . . .
Thus, the court sent it back for trial, allowing tobacco companies to be sued by plaintiffs for having been deceived into smoking.
Justices did not duck the issue of possibly negating the voters' intent when they passed Proposition 64, acknowledging, however vaguely, that the decision in Tobacco II bypasses the measure.
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