• SF 149/HF 211 which would have eliminated the ability of consumers and business to hold companies accountable for fraudulent and deceptive acts and dramatically changes Minnesota’s long standing consumer protection legislation.

• SF 373/HF 654 would have robbed innocent victims, including victims of sexual violence of the time they need to recover for the damages they suffered.

• SF429/HF 747 would have restricted the ability of citizens to hold companies accountable for any discriminatory, fraudulent, and employment related wrongful conduct and would affect 300 statutes that require awards of attorney’s fees to prevent wrongful and/or illegal conduct.

• SF 530/HF 770 would have provided a windfall for insurance companies by creating an incentive to avoid paying claims owed to consumers and thereby increasing their profits.

So Called ‘Reforms’ Put Consumer, Small Business Rights at Risk

  Bills to be heard in the legislature today that will take away the constitutional rights of Minnesotans in order to benefit the insurance industry, big business

ST. PAUL, MN – Legislators are moving swiftly to pass a package of bills that will have a devastating effect on consumers’ and small businesses’ ability to seek justice. Four bills to be heard today and tomorrow are sponsored by big insurance and big business special interests in the form of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Minnesota’s legislators are introducing cookie-cutter bills written in D.C. and claiming them as their own.

“On the heels of the biggest economic downturn since the depression—fueled by fraudulent business practices which robbed Minnesota’s hardworking, honest consumers of their houses, jobs and pensions—our legislature wants to reward these wrongdoers by passing legislation that will allow companies to cheat consumers; hurt small businesses by shifting costs to private health insurers and remove Minnesotan’s constitutional right to remedy when harmed by negligent wrongdoers and fraudulent business practices,” said Brian Wojtalewicz, President of the Minnesota Association for Justice.

Wojtalewicz added, “We have heard a lot about the constitution the last year and a half, but you can’t pick which parts of the constitution you like and which parts you don’t. These reform efforts are unreasonable, unfair and unconstitutional.”

Four of the so called ‘reform’ bills that reward the wrongdoer:

SF 149/HF 211 would eliminate the ability of consumers and business to hold companies accountable for fraudulent and deceptive acts and dramatically changes Minnesota’s long standing consumer protection legislation.

SF 373/HF 654 would rob innocent victims, including victims of sexual violence of the time they need to recover for the damages they suffered.

SF429/HF 747 would restrict the ability of citizens to hold companies accountable for any discriminatory, fraudulent, and employment related wrongful conduct and would affect 300 statutes that require awards of attorney’s fees to prevent wrongful and/or illegal conduct.

SF 530/HF 770 is a windfall for insurance companies by creating an incentive to avoid paying claims owed to consumers and thereby increasing their profits.

Reacting to the swift passage of this legislation, Carla Ferrucci, executive director of Minnesota Association for Justice, said the proposed changes in law are “frivolous ‘reform’ bills with pithy titles, flimsy facts and obscure the truth about the civil justice system.” She went on to say that “if the bill sponsors were truthful they would admit that personal injury and medical malpractice case filings have gone down 40% since 1997; Minnesota has the lowest medical malpractice premiums in the country; Minnesota’s auto insurance premiums have gone down approximately 14% since 2003 and, our court rules and procedures are the envy of the every other state in the country. Indeed, concerned Minnesotans will surely wonder why these bills are being brought forward. The only reasonable conclusion is to reward big insurance and big business at the expense of working families.”

Ferrucci said it is imperative that Minnesotans understand just how drastically these proposals will affect the rights of consumers and small business to obtain justice when unscrupulous business come into our state and prey on senior citizens and other vulnerable communities. “Minnesotans need to let their legislators know that these are not reforms; they are protectionist laws that will enable an unregulated insurance industry to charge excessive premiums and encourage bad businesses to operate freely in Minnesota,” she added.

The Minnesota Association for Justice (MAJ) is a professional association of attorneys who represent Minnesotans wrongfully harmed or injured in person, property or human rights. MAJ defends the rights guaranteed by the Constitutions and laws of the United States and Minnesota, foremost among them the right to a trial by jury and advocates for public policy to enhance consumer rights and protection.

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Press Release

Myth busting HBO documentary Hot Coffee makes Twin Cities debut

Tonight’s Minneapolis screening of the 2011 Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival tells the story of what really happened to the 79-year-old grandmother who was severely injured by McDonald’s hot coffee

Additional screenings of the jaw dropping documentary are planned for Fargo, Duluth, Rochester, International Falls, Bemidji and Alexandria

MINNEAPOLIS, MN –

The story is infamous. A woman buys a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s, spills it on herself and experiences insignificant burns. Claiming that McDonalds should have warned her that the coffee was “hot”, she gets an attorney to file a lawsuit suit against McDonald’s and, incredibly, a jury awards her millions of dollars.

Clearly, there is something terribly wrong with a justice system that would impose such an outrageous judgment against the most respected and adored hamburger joint in America--just because some lady couldn’t hold on to her coffee. Right?

Enter attorney Susan Saladoff: The producer and director of the critically acclaimed documentary Hot Coffee who will be featured at the Minneapolis screening of the myth debunking film tonight at the Parkway Theater.

Ms. Saladoff’s documentary reveals the unsavory public relations machine behind one of the most misunderstood civil trials in American history. Seinfeld mocked it. Letterman ranked it in his top ten list. And, more than fifteen years later, its infamy continues. Everyone thinks they know the McDonald’s case, but Hot Coffee reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who suffered scalding burns from McDonald’s coffee, and examines how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded that effort and to what end.

What Really Happened? The Hollywood Reporter’s review of the Hot Coffee showing at Sundance captures the essence of the story McDonalds and other corporate interests, with the help of the media, were able to keep from the average citizen: “In this heady presentation, Saladoff presents a compelling case on how corporate America has utilized sensationalized lawsuit settlements to curry public opinion against “frivolous” lawsuits…Saladoff also includes numerous man-in-the-street interviews, which clearly indicate that the general public's uninformed view of the case was that it was outrageous for someone to sue over hot coffee.” 

“Filmmaker Saladoff pinpoints that case, interviewing the elderly plaintiff, as well as showing graphic medical photographs of the burns she suffered in her private areas that are so jarring and horrific that one must look away. Saladoff also presents vividly McDonalds' arrogant and dismissive treatment of the woman when she initially sought just to have her medical bills covered. All the while, McDonald's had in its files numerous other reports where McCustomers had been injured by their overly hot brew.”

Why this story is Important. The timing of the twin cities screening is no accident. On January 24^th, Minnesota’s legislators will gather in St. Paul for the start of the 2012 legislative session and on their ‘unfinished’ agenda from last year will be an effort to pass a package of bills that put consumer and small business owners rights at risk. With legislation written by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Washington D.C., and backed by big insurance companies, Minnesota’s legislators are being asked to approve corporate cookie-cutter bills that would use mythical examples such as the McDonalds hot coffee case in an effort to take away Minnesotan’s rights to fair and equitable access to our justice system.

Brian Wojtalewicz, President of the Minnesota Association for Justice (MAJ) MAJ is one of several sponsors of the Hot Coffee screenings across the state, said “These anti-consumer bills have been promoted based on the myth that our Minnesota courts are broken and that job creation is hampered by the current law. But, removing Minnesotans legal rights is not a jobs program. The documentary, Wojtalewicz added, “Exposes the truth behind the public relations effort by big business and big insurance to demonize our legal rights as citizensj to their benefit, thereby putting consumers in harm’s way.”

Although the documentary is anchored by the infamous McDonald’s care, the film goes much further into the debate about our civil justice system. Stella Liebeck’s story serves as a vehicle for people to rethink their long held beliefs - and whether they are no longer valid.

“Stella Liebeck’s true human story is a powerful way to see the truth behind complicated legal theory and hard to read statutory language.” said Carla Ferrucci, executive director of the Minnesota Association for Justice. “This documentary shows the real life impact of these insurance industry attacks on the rights of individual citizens to hold wrongdoers accountable. We are confident that after people see this film, they will see who really profits from these reform bills and will join us in our effort to stop them.”

Ferrucci continues that, ”It is imperative that Minnesotans understand just how drastically these proposals will affect the rights of consumers and small business to obtain justice when unscrupulous business come into our state and prey on senior citizens and other vulnerable communities.”

More Hot Coffee screenings. “This screening and others held throughout the state in the next two months will help us to debunk the myths about frivolous lawsuits in Minnesota. Personal injury and medical malpractice case filings have gone down 24% in the last decade; Minnesota has the lowest medical malpractice premiums in the country; Minnesota’s auto insurance premiums have gone down approximately 14% since 2003 and, our court rules and procedures are the envy of the every other state in the country. Indeed, concerned Minnesotans will surely wonder why these bills are being brought forward. The only reasonable conclusion is to reward big insurance at the expense of working families.” Ferrucci said.

For more information on additional Hot Coffee screenings in Minnesota: http://hotcoffee.mnaj.org

For more information on the Hot Coffee documentary: www.hotcoffeethemovie.com

Carla Ferrucci/Exec. Dir, MAJ This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (Office) 612.375.1707 (Mobile) 612.532.5060

[The Minnesota Association for Justice (MAJ) is a professional association of attorneys who represent Minnesotans wrongfully harmed or injured in person, property or human rights. MAJ defends the rights guaranteed by the Constitutions and laws of the United States and Minnesota, foremost among them the right to a trial by jury and advocates for public policy to enhance consumer rights and protection.]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 20, 2011

James Carey, President
Minnesota Association for Justice
Sieben, Grose, VonHoltum, and Carey
612-860-4929

OR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 28th, 2011

James Carey, President
Minnesota Association for Justice
Sieben, Grose, VonHoltum, and Carey
612-860-4929

OR

 Carla Ferrucci; Executive Director
Minnesota Association for Justice
612-375-1707 Office
612-532-5060 Cell
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

So Called ‘Reforms’ Put Consumer, Small Business Rights at Risk

Package of bills moving through the legislature are a gift to insurance & big business just in time for fundraising season

ST. PAUL, MN – In the last four weeks of the legislative session, just before the political fundraising season, legislators are moving swiftly to pass a package of bills that will have a devastating effect on consumers’ and small businesses’ ability to seek justice. Sponsored by big insurance and big business special interest in the form of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Minnesota’s legislators are introducing cookie-cutter bills written in D.C. and claiming them as their own.

“On the heels of the biggest economic downturn since the depression—fueled by fraudulent business practices which robbed Minnesota’s hardworking, honest consumers of their houses, jobs and pensions—our legislature wants to reward these wrongdoers by passing legislation that will allow companies to cheat consumers; hurt small businesses by shifting costs to private health insurers and remove Minnesotan’s constitutional right to remedy when harmed by negligent wrongdoers and fraudulent business practices,” said Jim Carey, President of the Minnesota Association for Justice.