Liability Reform Insider
Asms. B. Rubio and Choi Receive 2021 Civil Justice Gavels
June 14, 2021
Two Assemblymembers Recognized as Champions of Legal Reform
Civil Justice Association of California Announces 2021 “Civil Justice Gavel” Award Recipients
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 14, 2021)—The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) is pleased to announce that it has selected Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-48) and Assemblymember Steven Choi (R-68) to receive the 2021 Civil Justice Gavel award.
CA Privacy Agency Holds Off on Regulatory Authority
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – The Board for the California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPPA) held its inaugural meeting on June 14, during which the board took up the topic of whether to provide notice to the Attorney General of its intent to assume rulemaking authority for the California Privacy Rights Act.
California Ranks Fifth Best on 2020 ‘Justice Index’
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – The National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) has released its latest Justice Index for 2020, which evaluates and ranks every state in the U.S. on its ability to provide all people with meaningful access to justice.
California came in at number five on the list and is the highest ranked state in the Western U.S.
Non-Lawyer Legal Practice “Sandbox” Developing
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – The California state bar is continuing efforts to create a “regulatory sandbox” that would allow for experimentation with legal services, including non-lawyer legal practice.
In 2018, the bar set out to make regulatory changes that would allow better access to and delivery of legal resources. Out of that process came the Closing the Justice Gap working group, which then proposed the sandbox concept.
SB 331 Threatens Standard Business Practice of Severance Agreements
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – A bill that would prohibit employers from including confidentiality provisions in severance agreements passed out of Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 8th and is being heard in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.
Stalled: Bill Increasing Healthcare Costs, Creating New PAGA Action
CJAC Liabilty Reform Insider (June 2021) – AB 650 (Muratsuchi), which requires additional hazard pay and retention bonuses for health care employees who worked during the pandemic, went to the inactive file on June 3, causing it to miss the house of origin deadline and halting it for the year. Proponents may attempt to revive it with another vehicle, however.
Set of Contractor Employee Liability Cases Before CA Supreme Court
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – Two cases are currently before the California Supreme Court dealing with the issue of liability for injuries sustained by contractor employees – Gonzalez v. Mathis and Sandoval v. Qualcomm. CJAC filed amicus briefs in both cases.
Hearing Set in “Reasonable Value” of Medical Services Case
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – Oral argument has
been set for June 29 in the Second Appellate District, Div. Eight
in Qaadir v. Figueroa, et al., B306011. CJAC filed
an amicus brief in the case in April.
The issue: How should a trial court determine the “reasonable
value” of medical services for a plaintiff who eschews existing
health plan coverage and instead obtains treatment from
out-of-plan medical providers who charge hyperinflated prices in
return for a lien on the plaintiff’s litigation recovery?
CJAC Joins Ag., Other Trade Organizations in Challenge to Prop 65
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (June 2021) – CJAC, along with a large number of other trade associations, filed an amici brief on May 19 in National Association of Wheat Growers v. Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California.
In the brief, amici argue that requiring Prop 65 cancer warnings for glyphosate violates the First Amendment as the warnings are compelled false speech.
Stop SB 447’s Imposition of Unlimited “Pain and Suffering” Damages
Daily Journal - May 13, 2021
Daily Journal published version here
Provide reasonable COVID-19 liability protections for small businesses
Monterey Herald - May 3, 2021
Monterey Herald published version here.
By Kyla Christoffersen Powell and John Kabateck
For months, California businesses have been on edge about potential lawsuits tied to the pandemic, such as those alleging COVID-19 exposure at the business or issues tied to novel remote work situations.
Pain and Suffering Damages Expansion Bill Passed By Senate
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (May 3, 2021) – SB 447 (Laird),
which will dramatically expand pain and suffering damages, was
passed by the Senate last week and is headed to the Assembly.
SB 447 seeks to change existing California law to allow pain and
suffering damages in survival actions. Existing law prevents such
recovery but allows punitive and economic damages. The bill is a
massive expansion of damages and could affect all industries
subject to personal injury actions in California.
Online Marketplace Strict Liability Bill Shelved Following Appellate Decision
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (May 3, 2021) – Assemblymember Mark Stone (D) announced last week that he has decided to hold AB 1182, following a recent decision by the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal in Kisha Loomis v. Amazon.com LLC.
AB 1182 proposes to expand strict liability to online marketplaces for defects in products sold by sellers via the marketplaces. The bill is similar Stone’s AB 3262, which stalled at the end of session last year.
9th Circuit Overturns Truckers’ Injunction of AB 5, Not Preempted by Federal Law
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (April 29, 2021) – In a 2-1 panel
decision, the Ninth Circuit
reversed what was a major victory for the transportation
industry in January 2020 when a district court ruled that a
federal aviation law preempts enforcement of AB 5 against
interstate truckers.
Covid Liability Protection Bill Refused Hearing
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (April 22, 2021) – CJAC is
continuing to advocate for Covid liability protections this year,
including through AB 247. We are co-sponsoring the bill with
the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
Dan Walters: “Tort Wars” Heating Up Again in California
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (April 22, 2021) – The “tort
wars” over personal injury lawsuits and the rules governing them
in California are flaring up, according to a
column from CalMatters. Dan Walters points to a pending
ballot initiative attacking MICRA and CJAC’s new
Triple Threat Bills list as indications.
Courts Split on Website Accessibility Obligations, Federal Legislation Reintroduced
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (April 29, 2021) – In early
April, the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled in
Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. that websites are not a
place of public accommodation under the ADA. The court also
rejected the Ninth Circuit’s view that a website or app is
covered by the ADA if it has a “nexus” to a physical place of
accommodation, adopted in Robles v. Domino’s in which a blind
plaintiff sued
Domino’s pizza.
9th Circuit Denies Review of PAGA Waivers in Arbitration Agreements
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (April 19, 2021) – The Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals has
ruled in Carlos Rivas v. Coverall North
America that it won’t review en banc a panel decision
that continues to exempt actions under the California Private
Attorney Generals Act (PAGA) from arbitration agreements.
Civil Justice Association of California Announces 2021 Triple Threat Bills
April 15, 2021
Bills on the list will lead to frivolous suits, excessive lawyer fees and fiscal problems
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – April 15, 2021 – The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) has released its list of Triple Threat Bills for the 2021 legislative year, highlighting the organization’s top priority bills that threaten to undermine fairness and balance in the state’s civil justice system.
CJAC Urges CA Supreme Court to Uphold Med-Mal Damages Cap
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (March 2021) – On March 1, CJAC
filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court
in Marisol Lopez v. Glenn Ledesma, M.D., et al.,
S262487.
In this case, at bench trial the plaintiff won $11,200 for
economic damages and $4.25 million in non-economic damages in her
medical malpractice action for the death of her four-year-old
daughter. The court then reduced the non-economic damage award to
$250,000 pursuant to MICRA.