New rules aimed at curbing the number of class action lawsuits by shifting them to federal court are expected to have a limited impact in Los Angeles, despite the region’s reputation among business executives as one of the nation’s most judicially unfair districts.

Still, the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 may create a surge of class action lawsuits filed within California and possibly burden local federal courts with increased workloads.

The legislation, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush last month, establishes a complex set of jurisdictional rules that allow more class action cases to be heard in federal, rather than state court.

Plaintiff’s firms, which prefer state courts over federal, say the class action law is designed to support businesses that lobbied for the bill.

Over the year, businesses have complained that class action suits have been filed in venues with a history of high verdicts, primarily in state courts in Texas and Illinois. Local attorneys agree that business interests believe they get a fairer shake at the federal level, pointing to a larger jury pool, which in the Central District of California reaches from San Luis Obispo to Orange County.

Add to that a survey released this month by the Institute for Legal Reform, in which Los Angeles Superior Court was mentioned more than any other local jurisdiction as the “least fair and reasonable litigation environment.”

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The full version of this story

is available in the March 28 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal.