Jamie Court

Consumer Watchdog’s President and Chairman of the Board is an award-winning and nationally recognized consumer advocate.  Capitol Weekly, naming Jamie to its  “Top 100” list of unelected movers and shakers in California politics, wrote, “Court has made a career of battling all comers in the interest of the public, and his take-no-prisoners approach has earned him plenty of enemies.” Jamie’s latest book is The Progressive’s Guide To Raising Hell: How To Win Grassroots Campaigns, Pass Ballot Box Laws And Get The Change You Voted For (Chelsea Green, 2010).

“Americans angry about the state of their government might find in Court’s persuasive manifesto a cause for action,” Publishers Weekly writes. “With great accessibility and a fired-up attitude, Court brings his lessons in empowerment to the people.” He is also the author of Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Freedom And What You Can Do About It (Tarcher Putnam, 2003) and co-author of Making A Killing: HMOs and the Threat To Your Health (Common Courage Press, 1999). Jamie has led dozens of major corporate and political campaigns to reform insurers, banks, technology companies, oil companies, utilities and political practices. He helped to pioneer the HMO patients’ rights movement in the United States, sponsoring successful laws in California and aiding them elsewhere, and was an early champion of many of the most important consumer protections in the federal Affordable Care Act years before they were enacted. In recent years, he has led the campaign to hold California oil refiners accountable for price gouging at the pump which resulted in the toughest oil refinery regulation in America.

A frequent media commentator and op-ed contributor, Jamie is a high-profile and stalwart defender of consumers’ rights.  The Los Angeles Times calls him “a tireless consumer advocate.” The Wall Street Journal writes, “He’s notorious for his dramatic, sharp-tongued attacks on the health- and auto-insurance industries, and on any politician who takes their campaign cash.” His public interest career began as an advocate for the homeless and as a community organizer.  Jamie’s Alma mater is Pomona College, where he graduated with a BA in History in 1989.

Jamie Court
(Photo Courtesy of Consumer Watchdog)

Consumer Watchdog Exposes Possible Exxon Cover Up As Investigators Seek Answers in Torrance Refinery Explosion

Santa Monica, CA — ExxonMobil may be subverting a federal and state investigation into the explosion at its Torrance refinery last February that hobbled gasoline production and pushed gas prices sky high, Consumer Watchdog revealed in a letter to Governor Jerry Brown, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Does DWP Overcharge Scandal Extend to Sweetheart Settlement With Over-billing Lawyer? Judge Puts Brakes On Settlement

The LA Department of Water and Power's overbilling scandals are epic. They include an elderly couple who are Soviet emigrees and lived in fear because DWP issued a $50,000 bill to them.  When they complained, they were told to check for a leaky toilet.

Capitol Watchdog | Big Oil Slick Captures Capitol

Labor Day CA Gouging Gap At Pump Rises To $5.3 Billion Since February: Oil Refiners Exporting Amid Gasoline Supply Shortage

Santa Monica, CA – A new analysis by Consumer Watchdog shows Californians have paid $5.3 billion extra for their gasoline due to the higher amount Californians are charged than the rest of the nation since February. As Labor Day weekend approaches, Californians are paying 88 cents more than the national average.


The analysis shows Californians paid $900 million more for their gasoline than typical Americans in August alone. The analysis uses California consumption and both US & California gas prices, deducting California’s marginally higher taxes.

Tough Negotiator? Covered California Chief Says The Fewer Health Insurers The Better

Covered California Chief Peter Lee has claimed that the state doesn’t need health insurance premium regulation because Covered California is a tough negotiator with the health plans.
 

Consumer Watchdog Reports Gas Price Spike Costs Californians Record $1.2 Billion More In July; Oil Refiners Take Home $1.61 Per Gallon

Santa Monica, CA — California has broken all records for the biggest gap between what consumers here have paid so far versus the rest of the nation for gas at the pump, Consumer Watchdog said today. Californians paid $1.2 billion more, after tax differentials, than the rest of the nation in the month of July, a record, and $4.8 billion more for their gasoline over the last six months ending July 31st, since gas price spikes started.  That amounts to $201 extra paid by each California driver.

Tesoro Reports Record California Profits After California Price Spike

Santa Monica, CA -- Analysis of Tesoro’s earnings released today showed that the company made more California refining profit in the second quarter than ever in the company’s history.

CA Data Shows Record Gas Price Spikes = Record Return For California Refiners; Oil Refiners Double Their Margins From Recent Pain at The Pump...

Santa Monica, CA -- Newly posted data from California oil refiners shows that record price spikes at the pump have translated to a record high return to the oil companies of $1.17 per gallon in May of 2015. The average amount that a refiner receives for a gallon of gasoline has been just 46 cents since 1999, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC), but recently updated data on the CEC website shows that in May refiners took home more per gallon than ever before. Consumer Watchdog had urged the CEC to update the data, which had not been posted since August.

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