CALA Achievements
Jan 4 08 downloaded
http://www.sdcala.org/gpage7.
html
· A major force at the
grassroots level behind the
passage of Prop 64, “Stop
Shakedown Lawsuits” Initiative,
which passed 59% - 41%.
· Major proponent of the
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act.
· Major proponent of the
Class Action Fairness Act.
· Successfully defeated
attacks on MICRA medical
liability caps.
· Sponsored the Legal
Consumers Protection Act.
· Successfully defeated
attacks on confidential
settlements.
· Launched the “Lawsuits are
Making Us Sick” and “Take Out
the Trash” campaigns to draw
attention to how lawsuit abuse
increases medical costs, and
how “junk science” in the
courtroom thwarts justice.
· Information from CALA
supporters led to the first known
criminal and/or disciplinary
investigations into the mass
filings of ADA/access lawsuits.
· Generated hundreds of
opposition letters from CALA
supporters to SB 832 that would
have sent 75% of all punitive
damage awards to the State of
California, and AB 1489 which
would have expanded attorney
fees related to the AG’s office.
The Governor vetoed both
measures.
· Helped garner national
media attention on California’s
lawsuit crisis on CNBC’s Business
Nation, Penn & Teller, PBS,
Fortune Small Business
Magazine, Worth Magazine,
Kiplingers, as well as countless
local news features and editorial.
· Polls consistently show
CALA’s credibility ranking in the
top two or three organizations,
along with MADD.
· Recognized by President
both George Bush and Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger; praised
by countless legislators and
judges.
Jan 4 08 downloaded
http://www.sdcala.org/gpage7.
html
· A major force at the
grassroots level behind the
passage of Prop 64, “Stop
Shakedown Lawsuits” Initiative,
which passed 59% - 41%.
· Major proponent of the
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act.
· Major proponent of the
Class Action Fairness Act.
· Successfully defeated
attacks on MICRA medical
liability caps.
· Sponsored the Legal
Consumers Protection Act.
· Successfully defeated
attacks on confidential
settlements.
· Launched the “Lawsuits are
Making Us Sick” and “Take Out
the Trash” campaigns to draw
attention to how lawsuit abuse
increases medical costs, and
how “junk science” in the
courtroom thwarts justice.
· Information from CALA
supporters led to the first known
criminal and/or disciplinary
investigations into the mass
filings of ADA/access lawsuits.
· Generated hundreds of
opposition letters from CALA
supporters to SB 832 that would
have sent 75% of all punitive
damage awards to the State of
California, and AB 1489 which
would have expanded attorney
fees related to the AG’s office.
The Governor vetoed both
measures.
· Helped garner national
media attention on California’s
lawsuit crisis on CNBC’s Business
Nation, Penn & Teller, PBS,
Fortune Small Business
Magazine, Worth Magazine,
Kiplingers, as well as countless
local news features and editorial.
· Polls consistently show
CALA’s credibility ranking in the
top two or three organizations,
along with MADD.
· Recognized by President
both George Bush and Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger; praised
by countless legislators and
judges.
| Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of San Diego; Assembly District 76 (6 Elected) Tricia Hunter, Republican 11312 votes 12.84% Lorie Zapf, Republican 8865 votes 10.07% Sean Hoffman, Republican .......... 7743 votes 8.79% David A. King, Republican .......... 7516 votes 8.53% Marc P. Schaefer, Republican .......... 7035 votes 7.99% John "Woody" Woodrum, Republican .......... 6872 votes 7.80% http://www.smartvoter .org/2006/06/06/ca/s d/party_committee.html |
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| CALA "Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse" or as I think of it... "Common people Aren't Likely to have any Assets... so why should CALA lawyers represent them when they are damaged?" |
SAN DIEGO BUSINESS JOURNAL Posted date: 8/13/2007 San Diego City Taxpayers on the Hook for $27M in ’05, ’06 for Cost of Lawsuits County Bar Asks Members to Support Pledge for Diversity By MICHELLE MOWAD San Diego Business Journal Staff San Diego taxpayers spent $27 million on legal settlements, awards and outside counsel in 2005 and 2006, according to a report issued by California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. CALA, a nonprofit watchdog over the courts, found that litigation against the city cost taxpayers $11 million in verdicts and settlements in 2005 and another $3.7 million in outside counsel fees. In 2006, verdicts and settlements reached nearly $5 million and outside counsel cost another $2.7 million. In 2005, litigation against the county cost $3.8 million for verdicts and settlements and for outside counsel. In 2006, verdicts and settlements cost taxpayers $1.1 million and outside counsel $400,000. Lorie Zapf, president of CALA’s San Diego chapter, said local government is often the subject of frivolous or abusive lawsuits. “As a result, it is the taxpayers who pay and the community who suffers,” said Zapf. other critical services. other critical services. “San Diegans don’t pay taxes with the understanding that these monies will be used to defend against unwarranted or unscrupulous lawsuits,” she said. “Our legal system should not be a tool for those who would seek to abuse it for undeserved gain.” CALA made inquiries to Los Angeles, Orange and Sacramento counties and the cities of Anaheim, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Each was asked for the amount the city or county spent on verdicts, settlements and outside counsel for 2005 and 2006. CALA also examined city and county budget documents. In 2006, CALA reported $97.7 million in litigation, awards and outside counsel costs from these four cities, including San Diego, and another $79.2 million in 2005. In the four cities, CALA found litigation, awards and outside counsel costs topped $49 million in 2005 and $47 million in 2006. Zapf added that the totals do not reflect all costs associated with city and county legal cases. The counsel costs reported do not include the time and money that staff attorneys on the public payroll of the cities and counties spend fighting lawsuits. “The San Diego numbers sound too low to me,” admitted Zapf. She said there are no doubt legitimate claims against cities and counties, but attempts to request additional information about the settlements and awards were not answered by the city. Zapf said she requested information from the city several weeks ago but has not heard back from the risk management department. • • • http://sdbj. com/archive_article.asp? aID=97692115. 7502078.1512849.268339 5.5180827.793&aID2=116364 |
| Republican Party of San Diego County Latest News from Republican Headquarters S.D. County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Tel: (619) 295-6059 Fax: (619) 295-6710 1761 Hotel Circle South, Suite 120 San Diego, CA 92108 E-mail: sdcala@sbcglobal.net Website: www.sdcala.org March 19, 2007 COUNTY PARTY COMMITTEE MEMBER TO BE PRESIDENT OF CITIZENS AGAINST LAWSUIT ABUSE Central Committee Member Lorie Zapf to Lead CALA San Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Names Lorie Zapf as President San Diego, CA (March 19, 2007) - San Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) has named Lorie Zapf as its new president. Zapf is a former small business owner and has been an active community volunteer for several San Diego non-profit organizations. Her background includes positions in the news media as a radio and television news reporter, public relations manager, and a video producer. “I’ve been a CALA supporter since 1999 when the small business my husband and I owned was hit with a “shakedown” lawsuit,” said Zapf. “I am acutely aware of the toll a lawsuit takes on a business in terms of lost productivity, legal expenses, and the strain on your family and health. We were managing our lawsuit, not growing our business.” San Diego is a city of thriving small and entrepreneurial businesses, but just one lawsuit can bankrupt a small business and put all their employees out of work, Zapf warned. “Lorie’s passion for fighting lawsuit abuse will help CALA advocate for the countless small businesses and consumers devastated by the effects of a civil justice system out of control— whether through jobs lost as businesses close, medical help unavailable because of litigation risk, or the escalating costs we all pay because of those who would game the system,” said CALA Board Vice-Chairman George Coles. “We look forward to Lorie’s continued fight against lawsuit abuse and to ensure our legal system is used for justice, not greed.” “It is important that San Diego area citizens understand the role they have to play in improving the quality of our judicial system,” said Zapf. “Serving on a jury is one of the most effective tools we have to fight against lawsuit abuse that costs us all.” CALA is a nonprofit, grass roots, public education organization dedicated to serving as a watchdog over the legal system and those who would seek to abuse it for undeserved gain. More than 9,500 citizens and taxpayers are San Diego CALA supporters. # # # |
| Lori Zapf, President of San Diego CALA San Diego's Taxpayer Alert.org CALA serves as a watchdog over our legal system and those who would seek to abuse it. The San Diego chapter is one of six independent CALA’s through the state and is supported by 9,500 San Diego County residents, taxpayers, and small business owners. Lorie is a former small business owner and has been an active community volunteer for several San Diego non-profit organizations. She has an extensive background in the news media industry. http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache: mbiMRiSmn08J:taxpayeralert.org/% 3Fpage_id% 3D77+Lorie+Zapf+san+diego& hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us |
| Republican Party of San Diego County November 26, 2007 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION GONE AWRY so many other so many other regulatory laws of its type, a tool of extortion for a long list of special-interest groups that have little – if any – interest in the environment. Because CEQA focuses on land-use issues, the sector most often targeted with lawsuit abuse disguised as CEQA enforcement is the building industry. And the people who have set builders in their cross- hairs more than anyone else are none other than the labor union leaders who cynically threaten to rake over the environmental regulatory coals any project that does not track with their own narrow political agenda. Because CEQA is so broad- ranging while offering little specificity on just how its review process should be conducted, complainants – in this case, special-interest trial attorneys – can, and often do, exploit this legal loophole to contest the entire process no matter what its findings, while leveraging an insidious tactic called “greenmail” to force builders to either acquiesce to their demands or face the exorbitant costs of not only unnecessary delay, but frivolous litigation. And what are those demands? A perfect case in point can be found right here in San Diego County, where local labor unions used greenmail to secure a union-only project labor agreement on the construction of Petco Park. More recently, the city of Chula Vista has become embroiled in a bitter battle between union leaders and Gaylord Entertainment, whose billion-dollar hotel and convention center proposal for the Chula Vista bayfront has been under greenmail threat ever since Gaylord refused to sign a similar union-only project labor agreement. A union- backed group calling itself the Environmental Health Coalition is pushing Gaylord to use union-only labor as a matter of environmental conservation. That a project's union status has absolutely nothing to do with environmentalism is an inconvenient truth that even Al Gore would have to accept, which is exactly why the National Labor Relations Board recently voided a union project labor agreement deemed to have been signed under similar duress in New York. But the real mystery is why any rational environmentalist would tolerate other special-interest groups hijacking his or her cause for an immaterial political agenda. In the meantime, however, greenmail remains a special interest ace-in-the-hole that has proven highly effective in achieving the most environmentally irrelevant objectives through frivolous CEQA lawsuits. Take Wal-Mart, for example, a favorite target of litigious, anti- growth special-interest groups. In California alone, a small team of attorneys has been wreaking litigation – and thus economic havoc – by suing more than 30 cities that have approved Wal- Mart Supercenters. All of these suits have been filed on environmental grounds – many of them CEQA-related. According to The Associated Press, “[many of] these suits have been filed on behalf of obscure, often secretive community groups that have few known members. Some of them have been backed by labor unions leading an anti-Wal-Mart fight in California. . . .” As with the abuse of similarly well-intentioned but fatally flawed legislation, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by then- President George H.W. Bush in 1990, the ramifications of frivolous CEQA-based lawsuits can be huge – not just for the cities, which lose millions of dollars in much-needed revenue and infrastructure expansion. Or the environmental movement, which loses credibility. Or even the workers, who lose vital jobs. The hardest hit are the everyday taxpayers – the people who end up losing a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, a more efficient legal system, and a better quality of life. These are the Californians who are tired of paying the equivalent of a 5 percent tax to cover frivolous lawsuits launched by trial attorneys whose combined earnings dwarf those of Microsoft; or sinking their hard-earned tax dollars into a legal system ranked the fifth- worst in the United States. Greenmail-type extortion and CEQA abuse are a threat both to the preservation of our environment and the rule of law, compromising our safety, security and lifelong prosperity. Californians must tighten the environmental regulatory process to end this insidious form of lawsuit abuse Zapf is president of the San Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. She can be reached via e- mail at sdcala@sbcglobal. net. |
GOP publishes stories by CALA:
County Party Committee
Member to be President of
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
Central Committee Member
Lorie Zapf to Lead CALA
By Citizens Against Lawsuit
Abuse
March 19, 2007
... » Read More
http://www.sandiegorepublican
s.org/press/index.cfm/ID/109.htm
County Party Committee
Member to be President of
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
Central Committee Member
Lorie Zapf to Lead CALA
By Citizens Against Lawsuit
Abuse
March 19, 2007
... » Read More
http://www.sandiegorepublican
s.org/press/index.cfm/ID/109.htm
| HEARING OFFICER MEETING http://www. sandiego. gov/development - services/hearing officer/minutes/2 004/homin04may 19.pdf MINUTES OF MAY 19, 2004 ITEM-6: MISSION VALLEY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH CUP– PROJECT NO. 5087 Cathy Middlested – Project Manager Testimony in favor by: Rhonda Fanucchi, Lorie Zapf, Lance Witmondt, Joseph Holasek, Leticia Ruiz, R. J.White, Michael Sexton, Ken Kerr, Ted Brengel, Jeb Bakke, Don Daley, Pastor Leo Giovinetti, Matthew Landers, Roxanne Confer, Gloria Frennell, Sean Fennell, Linda Kerr, Bob Biron, Debbie Gosch, Charmian Turner, Jacqueline R Scott, Wendy Scott, Carlos Guerrero, Monique Guerrero, Martha Guerrero, Tony Martin, Fredrick Studer, Kathleen Studer, Vira Joan Wade, Maria Lilia Langley, Billy Langley, Rachel Grebbien, Steve Van Camp, Gail Van Camp, Julia Smith, Mario, Fimbres, Mandy Swonger, Shana Fimbres, Kathryn Cordova, Wilfred Sturleon, Marlys Snook, Don Lindsay, Rick Hallahan, Dennis Kris Martinez, Deborah Sund, Frank Leech, Gail Martin, Bob Hillard, Betty Breedlove, Timothy Hathaway, Jimmy Won. Belinda Biron, Audrey Kay, Henry Kay, G. Allen Schlanbusch, John Rodriguez, Michelle Mitchell, Jon Lotta, Cheryl Ann Walker, Robert Cobb, Tony Abat, Linda Reynolds, Jim Hallahan, Amy Meyer, Roberta Clay, Linda Preatice, Joe R. Ulibarri, Nancy Valencia, Richard Drew, Diana Lee, Stephen R. Bailey, Deborah S. Bailey, Robyn Conners, Sylvia Drew, Nancy Athay, Marlena Jones, Judy Ulibarri, Doris Hargis, Carol Holesaic, Steph Amundson, Dennis Brullow. Testimony in opposition by Patti Krebs, Dale Watkins, Melanie Colbert, Michael Dunbar. ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE STAFF’S RECOMMENDATIONS WITH ADDITIONAL AND REVISED CONDITIONS READ INTO THE RECORD BY STAFF AND THE HEARING OFFICER. RESOLUTION NUMBER D-4688. REPORT NO. HO 04-063. |
Press Release from SD County
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
http://www.sdcala.org/gpage13.ht
ml
For Immediate Release - June 25,
2007
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
http://www.sdcala.org/gpage13.ht
ml
For Immediate Release - June 25,
2007
| “Does Lawsuit Abuse Adversely Impact Your Family, Consumers and/or Your Community?” |
| North County Times March 30, 2007 Disabled-access attorney slapped with sanction By: TERI FIGUEROA The attorney who stirred controversy when he threatened to sue many Julian business owners for allegedly violating disability access laws has been ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $15,000 in fees and take legal ethics training. The order against Theodore Pinnock, who has filed ---- and settled out of court ---- hundreds of access lawsuits against local stores and businesses, came on March 23, after he sued on behalf of a woman who allegedly found an Ocean Beach store inaccessible. But the store, Sea and Shore Market, had been shuttered since it flooded in December 2004. The suit claims the woman visited the shop in March 2006 and found the front door to the store was too heavy, the counters too high, the walkways too narrow, and the bathroom inaccessible. The suit centered on alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act by Marcos Mouet and his convenience store. Pinnock filed the suit on behalf of a group calling itself the Association of Women with Disabilities Advocating Access, and a woman named Delores Jackson, who uses a walker and has difficulty seeing. In the ruling, issued March 23, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller found that Pinnock's suit made allegations "without reasoned and competent inquiry." Miller noted case law which finds that imposition of sanctions is reserved for the "rare and exceptional case where the action is clearly frivolous, legally unreasonable or without legal foundation." Miller ordered Pinnock to take four hours of legal ethics training through the state bar, and also told him to pay more than $15,000 in attorney fees for Mouet. Mouet's attorney, Mitch Wallis, did not return a call for comment Friday. Pinnock said in a telephone interview Friday that he had erred in this particular suit. "We all make mistakes," he said. "This mistake got blown out of proportion." Pinnock also sent an e-mail to the North County Times, saying he plans to continue filing access suits. "If people think that the Mouet ruling will stop me, they are mistaken," Pinnock wrote. "Being born with severe cerebral palsy did not stop me. Being born poor and black did not stop me. Being in an institution for ten years did not stop me. "Most in my position would have stopped striving early in life. But challenges invigorate my soul." Pinnock, who uses a wheelchair, became a controversial figure after what he called the "Julian Experiment" in 2005, in which he slapped 67 business owners with letters demanding that they come into compliance with the 15-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act and pay up to him to the tune of about $2,500 per business ---- or find themselves in federal court. Advocates for the disabled have heralded Pinnock's work, noting that the news of the suits was getting press ---- which meant that more business owners would tune in to the needs of the disabled. But Pinnock's negotiating tactics angered business owners and others, some of whom called his access lawsuits "shakedowns." In an e-mail statement sent to the North County Times, the new director of the San Diego chapter of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse said her organization applauded Miller's decision to sanction Pinnock. "Clearly, suing a business for Americans with Disabilities Act violations when the store wasn't even open at the time is a blatant example of lawsuit abuse," director Lorie Zapf wrote. Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. |
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| Lawsuits Shinoff |
| The laws protect us, but only if we can enforce them in court |
| Blogs |
| Home Why This Website SDCOE CVESD Castle Park Elem Law Enforcement CTA CVE Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz Silence is Golden Schools and Violence Office Admin Hearings Larkins OAH Hearing |
| P.S., a Minor, et al v. SAN BERNARDINO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT When your kids are at school, they're on their own, apparently.. School insurance won't compensate for families like these who are harmed. Blog Discussion Court decision |
| Victory for CALA: June 2009 CA 4th Appellate says school not liable when substitute teacher molests student |
| Leslie Devaney, board member San Diego CALA Leslie Devaney radio schedule from Stutz website downloaded June 8, 2009 Gavel of Justice Show Features Devaney, Sleeth and Dyer July 06, 2005 Time Warner Cable and Cox Cable are featuring Leslie Devaney, Jack Sleeth and Christina Dyer on the Gavel of Justice Show. This is your opportunity to see attorneys in action as they share their views on several hot topics. Watch for these air dates: TIME WARNER (Cable 19)Wednesday Evenings 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. June 29, 2005 TOPIC: How to Protect Yourself from an ADA Lawsuit GUEST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member HOST: Jim Edwards,Wireless Facilities, Inc., and CALA Board Member July 6, 2005 TOPIC: The Employment Time Bomb GUEST: Jack M. Sleeth, Jr., Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz HOST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member July 13, 2005 TOPIC: Out of Control Issues in the Education Field GUEST: Christina Dyer, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz HOST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member August 10, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. TOPIC: How to Protect Yourself from an ADA Lawsuit GUEST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member HOST: Jim Edwards, Wireless Facilities, Inc. and CALA Board Member COX CABLE (Channel 23 or 18) Tuesday Evenings 8:00 - 8:30 p.m. July 12, 2005 TOPIC: How to Protect Yourself from an ADA Lawsuit GUEST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member HOST: Jim Edwards, Wireless Facilities, Inc. and CALA Board Member July 19, 2005 TOPIC: The Employment Time Bomb GUEST: Jack M. Sleeth, Jr., Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz HOST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member July 26, 2005 TOPIC: Out of Control Issues in the Education Field GUEST: Christina Dyer, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz HOST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member August 16, 2005 TOPIC: How to Protect Yourself from an ADA Lawsuit GUEST: Leslie Devaney, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and CALA Board Member HOST: Jim Edwards, Wireless Facilities, Inc. and CALA Board Member |
| CALA San Diego Board of Directors downloaded June 8, 2009 Leslie Devaney Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz Carole M. Ross Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton Jim Edwards Wireless Facilities Lloyd Rowland Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. David Geerdes Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch Pamela Anderson Vineyard Bank Steve Hales California Financial Loan Services Steve Austin Swenson Advisors (Advisory Board) Stephen Friar Hensel Phelps Construction Co. Keith E. Krzewski Swenson Advisor Dan Powell CityPacific Corp. George Coles Coles Carpets Don Reeves, AIA Reeves and associates |
| From CALA website: "San Diego Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse was founded in 1994 as a non partisan, 501 (c) 6 non-profit educational grassroots organization dedicated to preventing improper use of the legal system for personal financial gain." [Maura Larkins' note: Thank goodness lawyers never use the legal system improperly for personal financial gain. Only injured parties do that. But I must say, your organization looks quite partisan indeed.] |