Limits fees which plaintiffs' attorneys may collect, if payable contingent on plaintiffs' recovery of compensation, in personal injury, wrongful death, other tort cases. Hourly rates not limited. Requires demand against defendants for compensation with supporting information. Allows defendants to respond with prompt settlement offer with supporting information.
Fiduciary relationship applies to fee agreement between plaintiff, plaintiff's attorney.
The information below was provided by the California Journal. Few issues in the realm of state government have had a longer shelf life, and generated more special-interest attention, than the effort to change the state's civil liability system. Tort reform has been a priority for businesses and local governments since the early 1980s, as the number and scope of lawsuits began a precipitous climb. Concurrent with the rise in civil suits against businesses and government was a marked increase in auto-insurance rates in the state. Insurance companies claimed these increases were the result of an explosion in the number of auto-accident cases that were winding up in court.