Thousands, if not millions, of lives will be saved because of future public health improvements made possible by the tobacco class action settlement. Unfortunately, this bill tries to unfairly limit class actions in our state courts at the expense of ordinary people seeking justice. This bill contains one-sided provisions that lower legal hurdles for defendants and raise legal hurdles for victims and consumers. These short-sighted policies shield the few from accountability at the expense of the many. We all know that without consolidating procedures like class actions, it might be impossible for plaintiffs to obtain effective legal representation.
Defense lawyers tend to be paid by the hour.
Plaintiff s lawyers in this type of setting tend to work without pay for the possibility of obtaining a portion of the judgment obtained, a contingent fee. For instance, class actions made it possible for individual tobacco victims to band together to take on the powerful tobacco conglomerates in ways that individual smokers could not afford. It would be criminal to leave some people with valid claims against corporate interests with no effective way to seek relief. I am extremely hesitant to restrict these legal rights and remedies without substantial evidence that such restrictions are justified. And I see no evidence to justify this bill.