A Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) ballot initiative on attorney fee contingency limits has been postponed until 2024.
“They just felt that there wasn't time for the contingency fee limitation initiative to gather the necessary signatures and to get people riled up enough about it to dig into their pockets to fund a campaign that will likely lead to success,” said Fred Hiestand, general counsel with CJAC, a watchdog for litigation burdens that are unfair for California businesses and employers. “No one wants to put in a substantial contribution unless they think they're going to win.”
The attorneys' fee cap proposal would restrict an attorney’s contingency fees for a variety of claims to not more than 20% of money recovered.
“The average contingency fee contract says it’s a third unless a complaint needs to be filed,” Hiestand told the Southern California Record. “A complaint almost always needs to be filed. It’s rare that you get a settlement just on a demand letter. So, the plaintiff’s lawyer files the complaint and jumps it to 40%.”
CJAC has twice been the proponent of statewide ballot measures to improve the state’s civil justice system, and both were overwhelmingly approved by voters.
"It was postponed probably due to the high cost of signature gathering, which is more than $10 a signature," Hiestand added. "To get the required ballot signatures is very expensive and the sponsors of it just were unable to put together the money in the time they felt to successfully prevail at the 2022 general election."