Consumer attorney who started a stir at weekend conference unrepentant

Days after he caused a stir by calling out a legislative ally of the Consumer Attorneys of California at the group's annual conference in San Francisco, medical malpractice attorney Nicholas C. Rowley was unrepentant.

Instead, he announced a start date to the signature gathering campaign for his initiative to update and modify a 44-year-old law capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and pushed back at criticism of his conference comments.

"Sadly, but unsurprisingly, there are people in the trial lawyer community who aren't happy about the story because it is their belief that stories like this make back room deals on other issues more difficult," Rowley said Monday. "That's the truth. That's brutal honesty."

Rowley is taking on the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, a 1975 law more often known as MICRA. The attorney with Carpenter Zuckerman & Rowley in Beverly Hills is working with Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court on the proposed Fairness for Injured Patients Act, a 2020 voter initiative they call FIPA.

Speaking on a panel about MICRA at the Palace Hotel on Friday morning, in the heart of Democratic Assemblyman David Chiu's San Francisco district, Rowley projected a photo of Chiu at a conference event the night before when he gave a legislative resolution honoring the group's outgoing president, Mike M. Arias. Rowley went on to criticize Chiu for opposing changes to MICRA and for taking campaign donations from the California Medical Association and other medical organizations.

Arias, with Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos LLP in Los Angeles, sent a statement in response citing Chiu's "strong support for civil justice" and added, "We do not condone personal attacks against lawmakers." Reached on Monday, the attorney group's spokesman, Eric Bailey, said the group would let Arias comments stand and did not have any further reply.

Chiu issued a statement Friday citing his doctor father's decision not to practice medicine in California due to high medical malpractice rates. He also noted his long-term cooperation with the consumer attorneys group, notably on legislation related to lead paint liability.

On Monday afternoon Chiu responded to Rowley's additional remarks, saying in an email, "I'm thrilled Mr. Rowley will let San Franciscans know about my work to deliver the strongest renter protections in the country, hold toxic lead paint companies accountable for poisoning kids, and the backlog of untested rape kits, expand employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated Californians, protect immigrant workers against illegal ICE raids and pass historic banking legislation in the face of Wall Street opposition."

After the convention, Rowley went to the California Democratic Convention in Long Beach to drum up support for his ballot measure. He shared a photo of himself speaking with Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris and another with a girl in a wheelchair in front of posters promoting his proposed law.

On Monday, he responded to the statements by Chiu and Arias issued Friday.

"Medical negligence victims, patients and families whose lives have been altered, which affect generations, continue to be left behind. Not only [by] the California Legislature and its governors, but also by the trial lawyers who have taken an oath to stand against all injustice, not just the injustice that fills their bank accounts." Rowley said he has rented out Frank Fat's, a venerable Chinese eatery near the Capitol in Sacramento, on Dec. 16 for an event to kick off signature gathering for his ballot initiative.

The venue was chosen because it was the site of the famed "napkin deal." This was a 1987 agreement between tobacco lobbyists, trial lawyers, insurers, lawmakers and the California Medical Association, brokered by Brown. Each party got something out of the deal, ranging from liability protections to contingency fees for attorneys. Some organizations have held out the deal as a symbol of what is wrong with politics in Sacramento.

Court said the venue is symbolic. "Fortunately we have Nick leading a new generation of trial lawyers who don't want deals written on the back of napkins," he said.

Some Democrats who are not on board with the new direction of the party may see their careers suffer, Court said. The campaign will feature some of Chiu's constituents who have medical injuries, he added.

"Anything that's 45 years old needs some oil to start moving," Court said.

He added, "We will certainly let the people of San Francisco know what [Chiu's] about."

In his email Monday, Chiu responded, saying, "My perspective is in line with my San Francisco constituents who opposed the previous measure [Proposition 46 in 2014] 2-1, as well as community health clinics, Planned Parenthood and those who are providing health care in California."

Rowley's proposed measure would raise MICRA's $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical negligence cases to an inflation-indexed amount of about $1.2 million. It would also revamp several other rules under MICRA, including making sure juries know about the cap and increasing the discretion of juries and judges.

The initiative was filed with the California Secretary of State's office in September. Court said he expects to see a title and summary from Attorney General Xavier Becerra by early December. The California Medical Association is the main backer of Californians Allied for Patient Protection, an organization that defends MICRA. It was instrumental in defeating Proposition 46, an initiative to change MICRA that got hung up on a provision demanding drug testing for doctors.

Chiu and numerous other Democrats opposed that initiative. He and some Democrats have received support from the doctors' group, though it has also spent to oppose other Democrats.

Spokespersons for the medical association were not available for comment.