California Online Voter Guide

11th Edition, November 2004 General Election

Proposition 64: Limits on Private Enforcement of Unfair Business Competition Laws. Initiative Statute. Passed

Official Summary

Amends unfair business competition laws to: limit individual's right to sue by allowing private enforcement only if that individual has been actually injured by, and suffered financial/property loss because of an unfair business practice; require representative claims to comply with procedural requirements applicable to class action lawsuits; authorize only California Attorney General or local public officials to sue on behalf of general public to enforce unfair business competition laws. Penalties recovered by Attorney General or local prosecutors to be used only for enforcement of consumer protection laws.

Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Unknown fiscal impact on the state depending on whether the measure increases or decreases court workload related to unfair competition lawsuits; unknown potential costs to local governments, depending on the extent to which diverted funds are replaced. Full Text of Proposition (PDF)

Campaign Web Sites and Contact Information

Yes on Propositon 64
Californians to Stop Shakedown Lawsuits
3001 Douglas Blvd., Suite 225, Roseville, CA 95661
(916) 677-5595 or info@stopshakedownlawsuits.com
No on Propositon 64
Electionwatchdog.org
1750 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 200, Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 392-0522

Who Signed the Ballot Arguments

Yes on Proposition 64:

Ray Durazo, Chairman, Latin Business Association
Martyn Hopper, State Director, National Federation of Independent Business
Maryanu Maloney, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
John Kehoe, Founding Director, Senior Action Network
Allan Zaremberg, President, California Chamber of Commerce
Christopher M. George, Chairman of the Board of Governors Small Business Action Committee.

No on Proposition 64:

Elizabeth M. Imholz, Director, Consumers Union, West Coast Office
Susan Smartt, Executive Director, California League of Conservation Voters
Deborah Burger, R.N., President, California Nurses Association

Follow the Money

Supporters of Proposition 64 have raised approximately $14 million as of October 16, 2004. The largest contributor as of October 31st is the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. in Washington, D.C., followed by the Greater Los Angeles Car Dealers Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Other major contributors, each giving more than $200,000 to the campaign, include Intel Corp., Blue Cross of California, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., the New Car Dealers Association of San Diego, and the California Association of Realtors. Many other businesses and individual car dealerships have given over $100,000 each.

Opponents of Proposition 64, including mostly law firms and individual attorneys, have raised approximately $1.5 million as of October 16, 2004. Major contributors as of October 31st include the Consumer Attorney's Issues PAC and James Sturdevant, an attorney in San Francisco. Other major contributors include the Consumer Attorney's Association of Los Angeles, and the law firms Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia & Robbins LLP; Lief, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein; and Milberg, Weiss, Bershad & Schulman LLP.

Detailed information about all contributors for and against Prop 64 is available through Cal-Access, the Secretary of State's campaign finance website.

For More Information, CVF Recommends...

The California Secretary of State publishes the Official Voter Information Guide with both a Quick Summary and Detailed Information about Proposition 64.

Other good nonpartisan resources include the League of Women Voters' Pro/Con Analysis and In-Depth Analysis of Proposition 64, the California Journal, the McGeorge School of Law California Initiative Review and the Easy Voter Guide.

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