Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is a front group for the insurance, tobacco, chemical and drug companies – it should be no surprise that they want to dismantle the civil justice system that holds them accountable for putting unsafe products on the market.

A report from the Center for Justice and Democracy (CJD) found that the network of groups behind "Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week" and www.sickoflawsuits.org is funded largely by corporate interests.  This network – Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) – is comprised of several state-based organizations that were created with the assistance of public relations consultants for the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA).  As CJD reported, "the tax filings and publicly available funding sources reveal that rather than representing average Americans, CALA actually speaks for major corporations seeking to escape liability for the harm they cause consumers, including the tobacco, insurance, oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, and auto industries."

Among the corporations funding the various CALA organizations are:  Philip Morris, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, Union Pacific, Georgia Pacific, Texaco, the Whirlpool Corporation, Adams Insurance, Arthur Andersen & Co., CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Phillips Petroleum Co., Southwestern Bell Telephone, Adams Insurance, American Fidelity Group, and the Kerr-McGee Corporation.