A column written by Cynthia Kurtz, President and CEO of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, ran in the Whittier Daily News this week that is very much worth reading. Kurtz describes how the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is now 40 years old, continues to give rise “to a boutique business for many attorneys who do nothing but file suits related to CEQA. She adds, “CEQA has become more about who is suing whom then it is about finding ways to protect the environment.”
As she points out, limiting who has standing to file suits under CEQA is one way of changing this trend.
Find more information…
In this week’s Capitol Weekly, CJAC President Kim Stone explains how tort reforms can revive California’s economy and improve the state’s 46th place ranking in state legal climates. The op-ed is below and can also be found on Capitol Weekly’s website.
Legal reforms: Curb class actions, punitive damages, junk asbestos suits By Kim Stone May 5, 2011
The difficult times for California continue. We’ve all heard the stats – 12 percent unemployment, 4.7 businesses leaving California per week (up from 3.9 per week last year), and a $25 billion budget deficit. We’ve been hearing these types of stats like a broken record for three years now.
The time has come for our leaders in Sacramento to step up and seize the opportunity at hand to tackle the underlying problems hurting our economy.
Find more information…
Tags: Kim Stone, President Kim, President Kim Stone, Stone
CJAC would like to thank the Cal Biz Lit blog for analyzing the California Attorney General’s latest summary of Proposition 65 settlements (Prop. 65 passed in 1986 and requires warnings in advance of exposure to toxic substances. All Prop. 65 settlements have to be reported to the Attorney General and are posted on the AG’s website.)
Cal Biz Lit examined the breakdown of settlement payments between penalties (75% of which go to the state), attorneys’ fees, and other payments. Looking at plaintiffs with settlements in 2010 and their record over the past four years, 64% ($24 million) of the more than $38 million paid to them went to attorneys’ fees. Less than 10% went to the penalties that the state of California collects 75% of.
Find more information…
Tags: 65 Settlements, Prop
A false-advertising lawsuit filed in California against Taco Bell claiming the company doesn’t use real beef has been withdrawn, but Taco Bell isn’t ready for the fight to end just yet. AP reports that the company ran full-page ads yesterday in the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and publications in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Alabama, where the Beasley Allen firm that filed the suit is based.
The ad is aimed at the law firm, and asks “Would it kill you to say you’re sorry?” It goes on to say that Taco Bell made no changes to its products or advertising, rebutting Beasley Allen’s explanation of why the suit was dropped.
Take a look at the ad here.
Kudos to Taco Bell for keeping the PR battle alive over what we can safely say was an unwarranted lawsuit.
Find more information…
Tags: Law, Taco Bell
Gang members are twice as likely to be crime victims than non-gang members and are more frequently subject to simple assault, aggravated assault and drive by shootings, according to a recently study by the Crime Victims’ Institute at Sam Houston State University.
In addition, gang members report their neighborhoods are more dangerous, are of lower quality, and have greater problems with drugs compared to non-gang members.
While it is commonly believed that gang membership offers protection, the study found that gang members were more likely to be victimized.
“Gang members were significantly more likely than non-gang members to be crime victims,” said Dr.
Find more information…
Tags: Study, Study Suggests
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s (FFRF) lawsuit that attacked the federal government’s observance of National Day of Prayer.
The court ruled that atheists did not have legal standing to bring the suit.
Kelly Shackelford, president/CEO for Liberty Institute, was quoted as saying: “We applaud the Seventh Circuit’s dismissal of this desperate attempt to erase our country’s rich history of calling for prayer. Sadly, some are determined to censor religious expression in the public arena. As long a
Find more information…
Tags: National Day, Prayer, Religion Foundation’s
In recent days, the IRS paid an accountant a $4.5 million award – the first under the new provisions of the Whistleblower Program – for finding an estimated $20 million of tax underpayment by his employer.
The Whistleblower Program was changed pursuant to section 7623(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, which was enacted on December 20, 2006.
The IRS Whistleblower Office opened in Washington, D.C. in early 2007.
The new IRS Whistleblower statute gives anyone with information about large-scale tax underpayments, including accounting errors or tax fraud up to 30% of any money collected based upon the information provided.
Tax Partner Scott A. Knot
Find more information…
Tags: New Provisions, Program, Whistleblower Program