$125.6 million spent on lawsuits by 10 California school districts

Lawyers. They are always there to "help" you.

California: of, by and for the Lawyers

• The so-called "justice" system is a fraud.  The courts exists to suck people dry and line the pockets of the lawyers.

(San Jose Mercury News)  -  Ten large California school districts, including San Jose Unified, together spent $125.6 million on lawsuits over three years, according to a report by a tort-reform group.

 

The report released this week by California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse looked at the costs of verdicts, settlements and outside counsel -- but not in-house attorneys -- for 10 large school districts from 2010-2011 through 2012-2013.

In those three years, San Jose Unified spent $2.24 million on outside counsel; it did not have any verdict or settlement costs. Superintendent Vincent Matthews noted that the district spent less than 1 percent of the general-fund budget on legal costs, while not laying off employees or cutting instructional programs in those years.

The report noted that "Litigation costs place an enormous burden on school district budgets." Of the 10 districts' $125.6 million in legal spending, about 83 percent paid for outside lawyers.

To reduce the costs of litigation, the report said, some districts employ aggressive risk-management programs and some fight questionable claims rather than offering quick settlements.

To read the report, go to http://www.cala.com/, click on "Is Litigation Costing You Your Kid's Education?"