When a county administrator takes the floor to advocate for legal reform, policymakers should pay attention. At a recent Glenn County Board of Supervisors meeting, County Administrative Officer Scott Damas cut through the noise and made the case plainly: “reform isn’t about protecting governments when they make mistakes, it’s about making sure the people who were actually wronged receive the money they deserve.”
“It’s not about defraying costs when we make a mistake. …It’s more about making sure that when things do go wrong, the people who were wronged are the ones who receive those funds, not their attorneys.”
The board needed little convincing. One supervisor praised the reform effort as “long overdue,” noting that prior legislation had opened what he called a “Pandora’s box” unleashing a flood of new lawsuits that has strained local governments across the state. “Down in LA County, it’s costing them billions of dollars.”
They’re right. As the Wall Street Journal editorial board has documented, litigation abuse is “busting the city’s budget” in Los Angeles, with lawsuit payouts totaling $240 million in one recent fiscal year and an estimated $301 million in the current one. City administrative officer Matthew Szabo put it bluntly: “Every dollar that goes towards a liability payout due to a lawsuit is reducing a city service.”
California’s lawsuit costs aren’t an accident, they are the predictable result of a legal environment that rewards volume over justice. The state’s litigation costs totaled $5,429 per household in 2022, one of the highest figures in the nation. Those costs don’t stay in courtrooms, they show up in higher rents, food deserts, closed hospital units, and decimated public services.
Florida offers a clear model for what reform can accomplish. After Governor DeSantis signed sweeping lawsuit abuse legislation, major insurers filed for rate reductions of up to 10.5%, litigation dropped sharply, and 42 auto insurers submitted rate decrease filings in a single year.
California lawmakers should ask themselves why their constituents are paying the price for a system that enriches attorneys while leaving victims, taxpayers, and local governments holding the bill.
Glenn County’s call to action is one more voice in a growing, bipartisan chorus demanding change. It’s time to listen.