California is home to some of the world’s largest and most successful companies. Some of the most notable include Apple, Wells Fargo, Alphabet (Google) and Disney. Over the years, these companies have expanded in revenue and size. Because of this, the government and private organizations often seek out ways to check this growth.
According to a CNN article, corporations continue to grow but trial lawyers may be responsible for “keeping them in check”. One cited case to support this was a Supreme Court ruling that allowed iPhone owners to sue Apple for allegedly monopolizing the app market and then hiking up prices for apps in the iStore. Another case involved real estate agents reportedly colluding to ensure that even though consumers were doing most of the legwork via internet searches, they could still collect their 6% commissions.
It may seem like wealthier and larger companies tend to be the intended targets, but smaller companies can get sued or break the law too. Small businesses may attempt to collude against larger companies or may engage in smear campaigns that involve public defamation. While most people understand the challenges that small businesses face and the desperation to compete with bigger companies, it does not change the fact that these actions are illegal.
There are also instances where the allegations against small businesses are false. A company will then need to take careful measures to prove its innocence. When the company filing the lawsuit is a bigger organization, this can create a David versus Goliath situation where the former is more likely to win because of an imbalance in available resources.
According to Forbes, in these instances, many smaller companies struggle to pay the fees that help to clear their name. Because of this, litigation financing firms have now stepped forward to ensure small businesses may secure the help they need to move forward. This may help small companies to provide better defenses for their day in court.
