Lawyers are – speaking as one myself – generally crafty people.
So, you almost have to admire the effort behind Assembly Bill 1776 by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters. The bill’s supporters have taken some of the most sleep-inducing public policy on the planet – the kind of technical debate that could put even the most stubborn teenager (or legislator) to sleep – and used it to conceal an enormous change in California law that could affect every business in the state.
AB 1776 would expand California’s antitrust laws by creating a new state standard for when a single business can be sued for allegedly monopolistic conduct. It would make everyday business decisions – like rewards programs and discounts – vulnerable to lawsuits and allow private plaintiffs’ attorneys to bring those cases.
Still awake?
Behind the legal jargon is a simple idea: make it easier for private attorneys to sue businesses, demand massive payouts and collect attorneys’ fees. That’s it.
In other words, AB 1776 is a full-employment act for billboard lawyers.
The bill is sold as a populist crackdown on corporate giants. But the lawsuit risk would not stop at Silicon Valley. It would reach neighborhood restaurants, retailers, franchises and family-owned businesses across California.
That is where those billboard attorneys come in.
Instead of leaving enforcement to the Attorney General – the state’s top cop usually responsible for bringing technical antitrust cases against the...
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