Lawyers Get Greenbacks, People Get Pinkslips
November 23, 2009
A new report out of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse found that California’s eight largest city and county governments have forked over more than $500 million in the past two years to pay verdicts, settlements and legal fees. As the head of one county taxpayer advocacy group put it in the Bakersfield Californian:
“It is outrageous that people are losing their jobs and government services are being severely cut at the same time that nearly half a billion dollars of our tax money is going toward litigation costs….Every dollar that taxpayers have to spend defending lawsuits is money lost for critical services such as public safety and infrastructure improvements.”
If it’s costing $500 million to feed the litigation beast in just eight California cities and counties, can anyone imagine what the bill for taxpayers nationwide?