The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) has announced the recipients of its Civil Justice Gavel Award, which is given annually to one Democrat and one Republican legislator who demonstrate willingness to work across the aisle in pursuit of fairness and balance in the state’s legal system.
The lawmakers to receive this year’s award are Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, and Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach.
“We’re delighted to recognize the standout, bipartisan efforts of Senator Hurtado and Assemblymember Nguyen to improve California’s legal climate,” Kyla Christoffersen Powell, president and CEO of CJAC, said in a news release. “Through their policy leadership, they have helped minimize frivolous lawsuits against businesses in their districts and throughout the state.”
Both Hurtado and Nguyen ranked in the top third in CJAC’s recent Balance Scorecard, which assesses work and votes on key bills impacting civil justice.
Both legislators told the Northern California Record by email that they are honored by the CJAC recognition.
“Civil justice legislation supports communities by protecting them from expensive and frivolous lawsuits; this legislation promotes a fair, balanced civil justice system in California,” Hurtado told the Record. “People should know that I take bills that create unfair litigation burdens on California businesses, employees and communities very seriously. There must be a balance between consumer interests and protections, as well as business interests and protections.”
Nguyen stressed the importance protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” Nguyen told the Record. “I've always worked hard to stand up for what’s right and to protect small businesses across the state from frivolous lawsuits.”
Many businesses impacted by such litigation are small and often times minority-owned, Nguyen said.
“It’s important to stand up to the type of bills to protect people from these predatory shakedown lawsuits,” Nguyen said. “As a small business owner, I understand the impacts of these often-targeted attacks against the small mom and pop-owned businesses. I will continue to be an advocate on behalf of my district and the entire state of California to do all that I can to put a stop to these predatory attacks on small businesses.”