Finally! California did not rank dead last in a survey of business friendliness.
According to a report released last week by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, California came in No. 47 in what was described as its “lawsuit climate.”
Now you might not think No. 47 is all that great, but it seems to me that the Golden State consistently, depressingly, comes in at a tarnished No. 50 on surveys that purport to measure business-friendliness and its legal climate. I mean, 47 represents progress. We’re moving on up.
But alas, I read on, and the report said this: “California ranked dead last for its overall treatment of tort and contract litigation, 49th for the quality of its appeals process and 48th for its treatment of class action lawsuits and the fairness of its juries. California is also home to one of the worst lawsuit jurisdictions in the nation: Los Angeles, which ranked second among the cities or counties with the worst legal environments.”
Well, OK, so that’s not exactly a celebrity endorsement, but I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so I appreciate the fact that we’re not last.
And again, California as a whole is even better. No. 47! For once, we can look down on other states. In this case, Illinois, Missouri and Louisiana – the states that ranked 48, 49 and 50, respectively.
I don’t know about you, but this feels pretty good. So I’m going to say it: We’re not Louisiana.