Affirmative Litigation &
Consumer Protection
With the Board of Supervisor’s support, County Counsel protects County residents and consumers by bringing litigation to enforce consumer protection laws in a variety of areas, including unfair business practices, false advertising, public health and the environment, and violations of the County Code. By bringing high-impact lawsuits to enforce the County Code and State statutes, County Counsel seeks to protect County residents from unlawful, deceptive, and unfair business practices and improve their quality of life. County Counsel also files lawsuits to protect the County’s interests, including when the County has been harmed financially. We handled over 75 lawsuits, successfully sued to stop numerous violations of the County Code and State law, won dozens of court injunctions stopping illegal and unfair business practices, sent over 50 cease and desist letters that often stopped illegal activities without having to file a lawsuit, and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in abatement funds, civil penalties, fines, and restitution.
5 Years of Great Results!
$660+ Million Recovered
Code
Enforcement
Lawsuits
Illegal Cannabis
Dispensaries
Shut Down
Lawsuits
Worked on
Cease and
Desist Letters
Million in Civil
Penalties Awarded
Permanent
Injunctions
Bills We Sponsored
Were Signed
Into Law!
Million to Employees
Through Enforcement
Of The Minimum
Wage Ordinance
Amicus Briefs
Joined
Preliminary
Injunctions Stopping
Illegal Activities
Temporary
Restraining Orders
Oil drilling
project stopped
SoCalGas Pays $119.5 Million For Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Settlement
The County brought a claim against the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), alleging that, in 2015, SoCalGas caused the largest natural gas leak in U.S.
Suing Opioid Manufacturers and Pharmacies for Causing an Opioid Crisis
Working with the Department of Public Health, the County sued several opioid manufacturers (Purdue, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Teva, Allergan, and Endo), alleging that they concealed
Coordinating County Efforts Related to the Quemetco Lead Battery Recycling Facility
The Quemetco battery recycling facility in the City of Industry reportedly operates 18 hours per day every day, crushing and melting 600 tons of used
Leading County Efforts to Advocate for Cleanup of Lead Contamination from the Exide Lead Acid Battery Recycling Facility
For decades, the Exide lead acid battery recycling plant allegedly operated in the working-class City of Vernon under an expired permit issued by the California