Urges diligence in monitoring attorney general activism

SACRAMENTO - In response to the long overdue budget passed by California’s legislature on Tuesday, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) Chairman John Merchant released the following statement:

“We are relieved to finally have a budget in place for the state of California. More importantly, we are grateful that personal injury attorneys were ultimately prevented from further lining their pockets by seeking larger compensatory damages in lawsuits involving Medi-Cal.

“This backdoor attempt by California’s personal injury lawyers to generate more money for themselves would have undermined the ability of California’s most vulnerable patients to access quality medical care. The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) has been integral to attracting doctors to California and we cannot allow trial attorneys to chip away at this vital protection to fulfill their own greed.”

“Further, we’re pleased that Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Bernardino County have come to an agreement on their development plans without additional unnecessary taxpayer expense. However, we continue to call on the Attorney General to refrain from the use of lawsuits to achieve his regulatory goals. The courts are not the appropriate venue to set regulatory policy on greenhouse gas emissions.”