Attorney General Lawsuit Doesn’t Slow Trevor Law
By CHRIS CZIBORR
Trevor Law Group LLP just keeps on ticking.
Two days after Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit on Feb. 26 against the Beverly Hills law firm for unfair business practices, Trevor Law served notice to another round of auto dealers that it was coming after them.
More than 100 auto dealers have been named in Trevor Law’s latest suits, which originally were filed in November on behalf of Santa Ana-based Consumer Enforcement Watch Corp., a group Trevor Law formed last year.
Trevor Law has attracted a firestorm of criticism from state lawmakers for a spate of lawsuits it filed against scores of auto repair shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in Orange County and the Southland in the past year.
The suits charge retail outlets with “unfair business practices” under the 17200 section of California’s business code, which governs unfair competition and lets anyone sue a company on behalf of the public.
Critics, such as California Assemblyman John Campbell, R-Irvine, have called the suits “legal extortion.”
Campbell, part owner of Saab of Santa Ana and Saab of South County in Mission Viejo, said his dealerships were named in the latest suits.
Campbell and others argue no one has been harmed by the alleged infractions,the suits are filed only on behalf of the consumer enforcement group, not individuals. Trevor Law asks for a payment in exchange for dismissing the suit.
Lockyer’s suit charges Trevor Law with committing infractions under the same code it’s used to sue businesses.
Trevor Law’s latest action alleges auto dealers are guilty of “misleading” advertising. The suits include ads for several dealerships and makes.
The ads, Trevor Law contends, violate technical issues such as font sizes and a failure to mention the annual percentage rate of interest and payment terms.
Campbell said his dealerships had nothing to do with designing the ads, which list his locations along with other Southland Saab dealerships.
“Saab itself ran (the ads),” Campbell said. “These guys at Trevor Law have been shameless. They continue their actions and say what they are doing is OK even though no-body agrees with them.”
Trevor Law didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Peter Welsh, Sacramento-based director of government and legal affairs for the Playa del Rey-based California Motor Car Dealers Association, said Trevor Law might have served notice on the latest round of suits in response to the Attorney General’s suit.
“These guys are trying to reinvent themselves,they might be figuring the best defense is a strong offense,” Welsh said.
Others speculate Trevor Law might be looking for bigger targets after the firm’s suits against small businesses caused a media backlash.
This isn’t the first time Trevor Law has gone after auto dealers.
Last year, Trevor Law sued more than 200 dealers under similar claims of deceptive or misleading advertising. Some of those dealers settled, some cases were dismissed and others remain in the courts.
Assemblyman Campbell said he’s happy the Attorney General is going after Trevor Law. But he said he wants the state to make changes to the 17200 code.
“Perhaps Trevor Law Group will get a dose of their own medicine,” Campbell said. “But the legislature needs to take some action as well.”
State lawmakers have held hearings on the Trevor Law suits and are debating reform.
Democrats are under pressure from trial lawyers,a big campaign funding source,to leave the law alone and instead go after renegade law firms that are abusing the code.
Republicans want to overhaul or scrap the code altogether. They argue plaintiffs should prove they suffered harm before filing a suit and that small businesses that break the law should pay a fine to the state, not to the law firms.
As for the Saab suits, Steve Coleman, Campbell’s co-partner and president of the dealerships, said he has no plans to settle out of court.
Separately, Trevor Law is going after Los Angeles-based Litfunding Corp., which the law firm says owes them money on a $1 million line of credit.
Trevor Law filed a suit against the lender Feb. 20, alleging it only received $600,000 of the loan.
The law firm said it won’t have “sufficient funding” to go after the auto dealers if it doesn’t get the remaining funds.
