California Proposition 207, Attorney Fees and Frivolous Lawsuits Initiative (1996)

California Proposition 207

Election date
November 5, 1996
Topic
Civil and criminal trials
Status
d Defeated
Type
State statute| Origin
Citizens

* * *

California Proposition 207 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in California on November 5, 1996. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported prohibiting restrictions on negotiating attorneys' fees; prohibiting lawsuits that are determined to be frivolous (as defined); and prohibiting attorneys from charging excessive fees (as defined).

A "no" vote opposed prohibiting restrictions on negotiating attorneys' fees; prohibiting lawsuits that are determined to be frivolous (as defined); and prohibiting attorneys from charging excessive fees (as defined).

## Contents

* 1 Election results
* 2 Overview
* 2.1 Fiscal impact statement
* 3 Path to the ballot
* 4 External links
* 5 Footnotes

## Election results[edit]

California Proposition 207

Result | Votes | Percentage
Yes | 3,206,350 | 34.22%

| 6,163,645 | 65.78%

Results are officially certified.
Source

## Overview[edit]

If Proposition 207 had been approved, it would have "prohibit[ed] attorneys from collecting excessive fees, and provide[d] that clients can sue attorneys to recover fees that have been found to be excessive by the court." The rules on what would be considered an excessive fee and what steps could be taken when a fee was found to be excessive were those already in use by the California State Bar in 1996.

Proposition 207 also would have required that courts impose sanctions against an attorney if the court determined that the attorney had filed a frivolous legal action. An attorney sanctioned in this way would have to reimburse the court for all expenses incurred in reporting sanctions to the State Bar. Additionally:

* If the State Bar received three notifications of court sanctions against the same attorney within a five-year period, the State Bar would have been required to recommend appropriate disciplinary action to the Supreme Court, including but not limited to, suspension or disbarment.
* A sanctioned attorney would have had to notify the client that sanctions had been imposed due to the attorney's conduct in the case.
* Attorneys would have been prohibited from collecting fees for services performed in connection with lawsuits in which the court had imposed sanctions.

## Text of measure

### Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 207 was as follows:

Attorneys. Fees. Right to Negotiate. Frivolous Lawsuits.

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### Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

Except as allowed by laws in effect on January 1, 1995, prohibits restrictions on the right to negotiate amount of attorneys' fees, whether fixed, hourly or contingent.

Prohibits attorney from charging or collecting excessive or unconscionable fees.

Authorizes court to impose sanctions upon attorney who files a lawsuit or pleading which is totally and completely without merit or filed solely to harass opposing party. Prohibits sanctioned attorney from collecting fees for case.

Requires State Bar to recommend appropriate discipline for attorneys with repeated sanctions.| ”

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### Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

### Fiscal impact statement[edit]

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[1]

“  |

Adoption of this measure would have an unknown, but probably not significant, net fiscal impact on state and local governments.[2]

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## Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in California

In 1996, 433,269 valid signatures were required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot.

## See also

1996 Measures

* 1996 Measures
* Civil and criminal trials on the ballot
* 1996 legislative sessions

California

* California ballot measures
* California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

* Ballot measure lawsuits
* Ballot measure readability
* Ballot measure polls

## External links[edit]

* Official California 1996 General Election Voter Guide

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ University of California, "Voter Guide," accessed May 6, 2021
2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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