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California Civil Court Ranked Worst by American Tort Reform Association

California has always had a reputation of propagating laws that seem unfairly harsh to business and defendants and it is no secret that the judicial system has been floundering under budget cuts. American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), a non-profit organization focused on reforming the civil justice system, has confirmed California's failings by ranking it number one on its list of unfair and unbalanced civil court jurisdictions, which ATRA refers to as "Judicial Hellholes."

ATRA's "Judicial Hellholes" list ranks the top five jurisdictions based on judges that systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, as well as legislative and executive branches that seem set up laws that are unfair, particularly to defendants in civil matters.

What caused California to rise to the top of this notorious list?

First, California's need for judicial officers is on the rise, but the court budgets are plummeting. A study released by The Administrative Office of the Courts indicated that the state needed 264 more bench officers to properly handle the states' legal caseload. Moreover, California's civil system is burdened by questionable personal injury matters, including over 667 questionable slip and fall matters between 2010 and 2011. However, the cuts continue for California court budgets. For example in April 2012, Santa Clarita Superior Court announced it would close 56 courtrooms, 24 of which hear civil cases. Overall, the Courts have suffered 1.2 billion in budget cuts in the past five years and the cuts seem to be permanent, based on the recent budget announced by Governor Jerry Brown.

Second, California has become the home of ridiculous consumer class actions, such as consumer lawsuit, In re Ferrero Litigation, against the makers of Nutella regarding allegations that Nutella was improperly marketed as healthier than it is. These types of claims are being filed in California because some judges have broadly interpreted the state's Unfair Competition Law to require no proof of deception, reliance, or injury, while applying less stringent rules in certifying classes.

Third, California's underfunded civil courts are flooded with asbestos matters, mainly focused in Alameda, Santa Clarita and San Francisco. The number of new asbestos filings in Los Angeles alone rose 80 percent from 2006 to 2010, with the growth continuing into 2012. This increase comes at a time when complex courtrooms and long-cause courtrooms that may have normally handled asbestos litigation have been reduced.

ATRA did however commend the California Supreme Court for its unanimous holding in O'Neil v. Crane Co, wherein the Court held that a manufacturer is not responsible for preventing injuries caused by other manufacturers' products, that might foreseeably be used in conjunction with one another.

Other jurisdictions that made ATRA's list were West Virginia; Madison County, Illinois; New York City and Albany New York; and Baltimore Maryland. Many of the jurisdictions suffered similar issues as California with unfair bias for plaintiffs and not enough resources for the clogged judicial systems

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