Drive any freeway in the Inland Empire, and you’ll see them: billboards with smiling lawyers promising quick settlements and big payouts. The message is that justice is available to everyone. But who’s actually paying for all that advertising?
As a lifelong Fontana resident and State Farm agent, I see lawsuit abuse from a specific angle. When someone is genuinely injured, fair compensation is deserved. But what’s driving up costs across California isn’t injured people seeking justice. It’s a volume-based litigation model that treats lawsuits as a revenue stream, and working families and small business owners absorb the bill.
In my State Farm agency, I’ve sat across the table from business owners trying to figure out why their premiums keep rising. The answer traces back to claims frequency and settlement pressure. When litigation volume goes up, insurers adjust their risk models. Restaurants, contractors, medical offices, and ordinary people at the gas pump all end up paying more.
It’s no exaggeration that these costs spill over. They show up in your service fees and monthly insurance statement. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform put a number on it in 2024: California absorbs roughly $72 billion annually in lawsuit costs, translating to more than $5,400 per household.
For a small business in Fontana or Rialto, these extra costs are the difference between keeping employees and keeping the lights on. These shifting costs, paired with affordability struggles, make it harder to hire, keep hours high, and expand operations. I’ve watched businesses make those calls, and the cause rarely makes the nightly news.
I’ve spent more than 25 years on the San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board, including three terms as Chair, working to make sure people in this region can find good jobs and that employers can afford to keep them. Through the Fontana Chamber of Commerce and the Inland Empire Business Alliance, I’ve seen what a healthy regional economy actually requires. For one, businesses need to plan. They need some confidence that a frivolous lawsuit won’t wipe out a year of growth. And in a year of risk, 2026, too many of them don’t have that right now.
The reform ask isn’t radical. Our state needs more transparency around attorney fee structures, incentives that align lawyers’ interests with their clients’ actual outcomes, and basic accountability for claims that should never have been filed. Ethical legal advocacy is absolutely essential for victims. But California must be honest about the economic ripple effects of settlement-driven litigation.
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Who really pays for all those lawyer billboards dotting the Inland Empire?
