Some seek pay-as-you-lose legal system to curb frivolous suits.Talk about timing. A day before the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse held its annual luncheon highlighting the adverse impacts of lawsuit abuse on businesses and the economy, William Lerach, a disbarred attorney who participated in kickback The seller's return of part of the purchase price of an item to a buyer or buyer's representative for the purpose of inducing a purchase or improperly influencing future purchases. schemes that secretly paid plaintiffs for hundreds of class-action lawsuits brought against U.S. companies, reported to a low-security California prison to serve a two-year term. Lerach, a poster child for abusing the legal system, supplied ample material for the May 20 event's presenters, including Mayor Jerry Sanders, who quipped, "That's my life every day with the city attorney." A panel of representatives from the building, hospitality, restaurant and life sciences industries decried the effects of what they called "frivolous" lawsuits brought against their businesses. Sam Hardage, chief executive officer of Woodfin Suites Hotels LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , told the audience that his hotels are "serial victims" of Americans with Disabilities Americans with disabilities comprise one of the largest minority groups in the United States. According to the Disability Status: 2000 - Census 2000 Brief [1], approximately 20% of Americans have one or more diagnosed psycho-physical disability. Act-compliance lawsuits. "The problem is, of course, with an ADA Ada, city, United States Ada (ā`ə), city (1990 pop. 15,820), seat of Pontotoc co., S central Okla.; inc. 1904. It is a large cattle market and the center of a rich oil and ranch area. lawsuit, we're up against a stacked deck," he said. "If we defend this and lose, we have to pay our attorney's fees and his attorney's fees. If he loses, he doesn't have to pay our attorney's fees. That's not a fair deal." Hardage and other industry representatives spoke in support of a so-called "loser pay" system, which would force plaintiffs to pay attorney fees if they were to lose. A loser-pay system would serve to curb the amount of costly and frivolous lawsuits brought against businesses, they said. Matt Adams, vice president of government affairs for the local Building Industry Association, went so far as to blame frivolous litigation on the collapse of the condominium conversion market. "It jeopardized our families, it jeopardized our economy and it jeopardized our entire economic base of employees," he said. He cited a statistic that 81 percent of all condominium projects built in San Diego resulted in litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. at one time. Most never went to trial, he said, because plaintiffs were simply seeking a financial settlement. San Diego Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is a local nonprofit that works to prevent improper use of the legal system for personal financial gain. Send news about legal services legal services n. the work performed by a lawyer for a client. to Heather Chambers, hchambers@sdbj. com. |
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