2023 STATE LEGISLATION
SB 278 (Dodd) – Holding Banks Accountable for Assisting Financial Scams Against Elder Californians
Financial scams against elders are on the rise in California; and too often banks turn a blind eye while scammers rob older Californians of their life savings. Often called the "crime of the 21st Century," financial scams against elders are an epidemic, with estimates of annual economic losses of $3 billion dollars. As mandated reporters, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions are uniquely positioned to detect when a customer might be the victim of a scam or other financial abuse – and take action to protect elders from the devastating loss of their life savings. Unfortunately, the language of California’s current financial elder abuse statute (Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30) is unclear. As a result, recent court rulings are in conflict with the law and have set an impossible standard of proof required to hold banks accountable for assisting scammers. By adding a simple clarification to existing law – SB 278 will assure justice for the countless elderly victims of financial scams whose bank should have protected them.
Fact Sheet | Victim Stories | Bill Language
SB 365 (Wiener) – Corporate Delay of Justice for Workers and Consumers
SB 365 would protect workers and consumers from the delay tactics corporations use when a trial court rules that a forced arbitration agreement is invalid. Current law allows corporate defendants to effectively pause a worker or a consumer's case – sometimes for years at a time – by simply filing an appeal. Specifically, this bill would allow a worker or consumer's case to move forward even if a company files an appeal, instead of putting their case on hold.
Fact Sheet | Examples | Bill Language
SB 21 (Umberg) – Remote Access to the Civil Courts
CAOC was a strong supporter of remote access to the courts and worked with leadership and stakeholders like legal aid and dependency counsel to craft SB 241 (Umberg) in 2021. That bill was given a very short sunset of July 1, 2023. CAOC joins with California Defense Counsel and the California Judges Association to co-sponsor SB 21, which will extend that sunset to January 1, 2026 for civil cases.
SB 652 (Umberg) – Expert Witness Standards
SB 652 will codify longstanding law regarding the standard for expert witness testimony. The bill will ensure that when testifying to a jury, all experts provide their opinion to a reasonable degree of probability. A reasonable degree of probability means that the expert is testifying that their cause was more likely than not the cause of the person’s injuries. A recent isolated court decision threatens to undermine the credibility of expert witness testimony. Kline v. Zimmer, Inc. (2022) 79 Cal. App. 5th 123 review denied (Aug. 31, 2022) upends current law by allowing only defense experts to testify to any “possible” cause of injury rather than what “more likely than not” caused an injury. SB 652 will clarify Evidence Code § 801 to ensure all experts must testify to a reasonable degree of probability based on their field of expertise. This would codify the standard that had been consistently relied upon for decades and will ensure only reliable testimony is presented to juries..
