Consumer Watchdog’s Senior Staff Attorney, Pamela Pressley has led Consumer Watchdog’s efforts to enforce Proposition 103’s mandates in court to protect California insurance policyholders against discriminatory practices and premium overcharges. Pam has authored appellate briefs and presented oral argument in numerous cases successfully upholding the insurance initiative and other California consumer protection laws, resulting in several precedential published opinions, including The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights v. Garamendi (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 1354; Association of California Insurance Companies v. Poizner (2009) 180 Cal.App.4th 1029, Mercury Casualty Company v. Jones (2017) 8 Cal.App.5th 561, and Mercury Ins. Co. v Jones (2019) ___Cal.App.5th ___.
Pam has also served as lead counsel in challenges before the Department of Insurance to auto, homeowners, business and med mal insurance rate hike proposals, resulting in savings to California policyholders of over $4.6 billion.
In May 2010, Pam was named as one of the top women litigators in California by the Daily Journal. At the time, she had served “as litigation director of this small but dogged consumer group for more than a decade” and “gone head-to-head with state regulators for not cracking down on [] autism denials.” (Daily Journal Supplement, May 12, 2010, p. 34.) Her efforts, working together with Consumer Watchdog Litigation Director Jerry Flanagan and co-counsel Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, led to a Los Angeles Superior Court decision declaring that the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) illegally adopted rules that delayed and denied decisions regarding coverage for autism treatments and improperly withheld public documents that revealed how they handled consumer complaints, and a Court of Appeal decision ordering the DMHC to stop upholding such illegal denials of coverage for autism treatments.
Pam received her B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995. Before joining Consumer Watchdog and serving as the organization’s Litigation Director for 15 years, Pam worked as Consumer Attorney for the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) and as a staff attorney for the Center for Law in the Public Interest (CLIPI).
Consumers’ Lawsuit Against DIRECTV May Proceed, Court of Appeal Says
Santa Monica, CA — DIRECTV’s arbitration clause does not bar DIRECTV customers from suing the company for illegal early termination fees, the California Court of Appeal ruled Monday afternoon. The decision allows the case to proceed to trial.
Consumer Watchdog Challenge to Farmers’ Auto Rate Filing Seeks to Enforce Proposition 103’s Good Driver Discount Policy Mandates
Santa Monica, CA - Consumer Watchdog petitioned the Insurance Commissioner this week for a public hearing on the “new program” private passenger auto filings of Farmers Specialty Insurance Company, an affiliate of Farmers Insurance Exchange.
Big Week for Insurance Consumers
Our Legal Team had a busy week last week, with two big auto insurance rate victories and significant steps forward in our legal cases against insurance company abuses. Here are some highlights of our accomplishments just this past week:
1) Slashed Farmers' requested auto rate increase in half from 6.9% to 3.5%
2) Lowered So Cal Auto Club auto insurance rates by -4.1%
Consumer Watchdog Calls for Price Reduction for Low Cost Auto Insurance Program
Santa Monica, CA – Low-income Californians with good driving records should be given a 3.9% rate decrease on the state's innovative Low Cost Auto Insurance Program, according to an actuarial analysis Consumer Watchdog submitted to the California Department of Insurance Wednesday.
Did your California insurance broker or agent tell you about the Low Cost Auto Insurance Program?
Do you have minimum limits (15/30/15) on your auto insurance policy? Did your insurance agent or broker tell you about California’s Low Cost Auto Insurance Program, which could save you hundreds of dollars on your auto insurance? Likely Not. Consumer Watchdog is investigating the failure of agents and brokers to inform customers about California’s Low Cost Auto Insurance Program and we need your help.