O.C. Group Quietly Attends Suits Hearing : Congress: Sen. Boxer meets with contingent of small investors opposed to Rep. Christopher Cox’s bill that would limit litigation against businesses.

WASHINGTON — They had come here to be heard.

But on Thursday, as a House subcommittee heard from “experts” about a proposed bill aimed at diminishing costly, frivolous lawsuits, the delegation of citizens from Orange County was silenced.

The seven-member group had wanted to tell members of Congress, including their own representative, Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), that they are the real experts, alleging they had been cheated and become victims of fraud. They wanted to argue that, if Cox’s securities bill becomes law, it will be more difficult for ordinary citizens like themselves to file lawsuits and prove their claims of fraud in court.

Not invited to testify before the finance subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee, the Orange County residents nonetheless felt newly empowered. Their presence on Capitol Hill was paid for by trial lawyers who oppose the bill, making them players in one of the biggest lobbying battles being waged over an item in the Republican-sponsored “contract with America.”

After listening to four hours of rancorous testimony, the group left for the airport and vowed to be heard back in Orange County.

“I cannot believe Cox even endorsed this bill on the heels of the Orange County bankruptcy,” said John Bretza, a Long Beach police commander who had $204,600 in the county investment pool. The money was from the settlement of a lawsuit involving his 17-year-old daughter, Kristie, who suffered permanent brain damage when a bathroom ceiling collapsed in their Trabuco Canyon home.

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“What we need to do is let Orange County know what’s going on and what’s happening and that Cox is the premier architect of the bill,” said Steve Server of Irvine, whose 15-year-old stepson, Joshua, had about $120,000 from a lawsuit settlement in the Orange County investment pool.

But Cox accused the trial lawyers of creating “baseless fears” and exploiting the Orange County bankruptcy for the sake of political advantage.

During the hearing, Cox did not address the Orange County residents who were seated in the center of the hearing room but instead attacked the lawyers who had funded their all-expenses-paid trip to Washington.

The political ploy, Cox charged, was “manipulation of the worst kind.”

Cox argued during the hearing that his bill does not target the small investors but the “legalized extortion” practiced by lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits against businesses in order to capture big legal fees.

The Orange County residents were not convinced. Having already suffered once in seeing their money jeopardized in the county’s bankrupt investment pool, they now feared Congress was about to pour salt on their wounds.

The first assignment for the citizens-turned-lobbyists was a news conference Wednesday morning with Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who has attacked Cox’s bill and offered his own proposal.

One by one, the small investors stood at a podium and briefly shared their stories of tragedy and misfortune. In addition to Bretza and Server, other speakers included:

* Lee DeVore, a retired Fullerton Police Department captain, who told how his $100,000 retirement savings was now tied up in the bankruptcy. The Cox bill, he feared, would protect large businesses and hurt people like him and 80 other Fullerton employees who have no control over where the city invested their savings.

* Jeff Henderson, formerly an engineer with the county, who is among the dozens of county employees who received layoff notices after the bankruptcy was declared. Having lost the job that supported his wife and two children, the Rancho Santa Margarita resident said the Cox bill would take away another “survival tool.”

* Melissa Arbour, a 16-year-old Placentia resident who also had money in the Orange County fund. She ended her comments with a simple request: “I want Congress to know my story.”

Also with the delegation were Joy Delfosse and Jeri Mellon, two senior citizens who now reside in Nevada. They had participated in a class-action lawsuit against the now-defunct, Orange County-based Lincoln Savings and Loan. They said they never would have been able to sue owner Charles H. Keating if Cox’s bill had been in effect.

But the news conference would be the last public forum for the group.

Unable to schedule a meeting with Cox, who said he did not know they were coming to Washington until they “landed on my doorstep,” the group met with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) instead.

Sitting around the conference table in Boxer’s office, DeVore, like his fellow Republicans in the Orange County group, said he found it ironic that they were looking to Boxer for support against Cox’s bill.

“What’s right is right and you go with whoever is doing the right thing at that time,” DeVore said.

In a written statement presented to the subcommittee, Cox said his Orange County constituents had been subjected to “fearmongering” and “political gamesmanship” by those opposed to his bill. He also said that the bill had been endorsed by Costa Mesa accountant John M. W. Moorlach, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for county treasurer who last year predicted the collapse of the county’s investment pool.

Two members of the Orange County contingent said they did not completely disagree with Cox’s contention that there are too many lawsuits.

Barbara Arbour, Melissa’s mother, noted that her attorney received one-fourth of their $100,000 lawsuit settlement, and Melissa was left with about $48,000 after covering other expenses.

“Actually, he got more because he didn’t put his money in the Orange County pool,” Arbour said.

Henderson, a registered Republican, said he believes corporations need protection from abusive lawyers. “But,” he said, “I think this legislation will hit not only the frivolous lawsuits but the legitimate ones too.”