"Two ads among the many aired during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast didn't sell beer, cars, fast food or cell phone services; rather they were opening salvos of what could be one of the year's most expensive ballot measure duels. One spot denounced personal injury attorneys who promise justice for victims of accidents and assaults but take big chunks of settlements and judgments."
"It declared: The billboard lawyers make millions, while Californians are left broke and broken. Rideshare company Uber paid for the ad, which subliminally promotes an Uber-sponsored ballot measure that, if qualified for the November ballot and passed by voters, would sharply limit contingency fees attorneys receive in auto accident lawsuits. The other ad, sponsored by personal injury attorneys, cited a series of New York Times articles about sexual assaults of rideshare passengers, focusing on Uber."
"It sets the stage for at least one of three lawyer-sponsored measures that have been filed which, if successful, would collectively impose new regulations on Uber and other rideshare companies and make it easier to sue them. Tens of millions of dollars have already been set aside by the contending factions in anticipation of an all-out political war next fall. And given the financial stakes and the protagonists' deep pockets, spending could reach hundreds of millions of dollars."
Two Super Bowl ads signaled the start of opposing ballot measure campaigns: one ad, paid for by Uber, attacked personal injury attorneys and implicitly promoted a measure to sharply limit contingency fees in auto accident suits; another ad, sponsored by personal injury attorneys, cited reports of rideshare passenger sexual assaults and set up measures to impose new regulations and ease lawsuits against rideshare companies. Three lawyer-sponsored measures and at least one Uber-backed measure have been filed. Competing factions have already reserved tens of millions of dollars and could spend into the hundreds of millions. The Attorney General’s ballot titles were politically slanted, prompting calls for a neutral authority to draft titles.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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