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San
Diego, CA - After
a legislative year in which consumer attorneys and lobbyists for
California consumer attorneys have been
virtually stopped in its tracks, California’s elected officials are
going to be under tremendous pressure in 2002 to give personal injury
lawyers what they want.
And
looking to 2003, trial lawyers are working hard to back political
candidates that will support proposals that will create more litigation
and make the lawyers rich while increasing Californians’ medical costs,
insurance costs and taxes.
In
an on-going effort to educate the public about where politicians stand on
civil justice reform issues, CALA asked candidates the following
questions:
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Do
you agree that our civil justice system encourages too much
unnecessary and costly litigation?
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Do
you agree that frivolous lawsuits are a problem in California?
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Do
you favor penalties for people who aid in bringing a frivolous
lawsuit?
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Do
you favor reasonable limits on the amount of money juries can award
for punitive damages?
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Do
you favor reasonable limits on the amount of money juries can award
for so-called “non-economic damages,” which are damages in
addition to compensation for medical costs and lost earnings?
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Do
you support the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA)
including the $250,000 limit on recovery of non-economic damages?
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Have
you been endorsed by the Consumer Attorneys of California?
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Are
you seeking, or have you ever received contributions from the Consumer
Attorneys of California?
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Do
you agree that frivolous construction defect litigation is hampering
our state’s ability to provide affordable housing?
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Do
you support the use of arbitration agreements in employment and health
care contracts?
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Would
you support legislation requiring advertisements from personal injury
lawyers to disclose whether “expenses” are included in a
contingency fee or are applied on top of the fee?
Candidates
were asked to provide “yes” or “no” answers (results provided on the attached table). Candidates who did not return the surveys are shown as
“O" Citizens
wishing to know the views of a “O” candidate are encouraged to call
the candidate or their campaign office directly.
Citizens interested in more information about who their candidates
are and how to reach them can contact CALA at (619) 295-6059 to receive
the 2002 Candidate Survey Results Report Card.
Candidate Survey
Results can also be viewed on our website at:
www.sdcala.org.
Click
here to see results
CALA
is a nonprofit public education organization, with more than 8,000 supporters in the San Diego County. CALA does not support or oppose any candidate for public
office, and is not affiliated with any political party.
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