Overview
- Examples of “nuclear verdicts” cited include a mesothelioma case with $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages and a separate $50 million award over a drive‑thru coffee spill.
- The report highlights a surge of ADA Title III cases, noting 3,252 filings in California in 2024 with nearly 80% attributed to Los Angeles–based SoCal Equal Access Group.
- ATRF points to aggressive use of the Song‑Beverly Act in lemon‑law suits, including a cited instance where a $1,600 consumer award drew a $730,000 attorney‑fee request.
- Economic estimates from The Perryman Group peg Los Angeles’s local “tort tax” at about $3,658 per resident with more than 407,500 jobs lost.
- Legislative pushback remains stalled, with State Sen. Roger Niello’s 2025 bill to provide cure periods for technical ADA violations failing to advance despite bipartisan support.