No, I've never been in this store before; even so, I'm suing you

"Shakedown" lawsuits against businesses have a new champion: Florida Democratic Rep Alan Grayson.

The lawmaker from Orlando wants to import to the District of Columbia a scheme that allowed lawyers in California to run a litigation protection-racket against mom-and-pop businesses.

In a case now before D.C.'s local Court of Appeals, Grayson is asking to have the District's consumer protection ordinance interpreted—or, rather, misinterpreted—to permit lawsuits against businesses even if the plaintiff didn't suffer any injury.

In other words, this self-described "progressive Democrat" is trying to subvert a key safeguard against frivolous lawsuits: The requirement that the plaintiff show tangible "standing," including harm caused by the defendant's conduct.

California's disastrous experiment with gutting the rules of standing should flash warning signals to the judges who are considering Grayson's case—and to the D.C. business owners and residents who would be the ultimate losers if he wins.

California's Unfair Competition Law was a classic example of a consumer protection law that didn't help consumers nearly so much as it enriched ethically challenged attorneys. Lawyers could sign up basically anyone as a plaintiff, whether or not the person had ever patronized the business being sued, much less been harmed by it. Thousands of other uninjured individuals would then be added to the suit, in a class action-style scheme.

The main goal? To force the business to settle.

The SEC sued Goldman Sachs; now, Goldman is rounding up big contributors to salvage an Illinois bank closely tied to Obama

Today it was reported that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has been calling Wall Street friends to cough up $125 million to save ShoreBank, which faces federal closure next week. Rep. Jan Schakowsky suggested in January that Illinois taxpayers foot the bill. That would have been the first state-led bank bailout in U.S history. The idea was abandoned–so it appears the government is shaking down Goldman Sachs instead.

ShoreBank has close connections to the Obama administration, including controversial figures such as former “green jobs czar” Van Jones. Its executives have contributed in the past to Rep. Schakowsky and other Illinois politicians. ShoreBank did not just make loans in poor communities–there are other local banks that do that without getting into trouble–but also specifically made loans that the recipients had little hope of repaying.

Now ShoreBank is calling in some political favors, and the politicians are responding with a classic Chicago-style shakedown. It is probably no coincidence that Goldman Sachs suddenly took an interest in ShoreBank after it was slapped with a federal civil fraud lawsuit and a criminal investigation. Many Wall Street observers believe that the charges against Goldman Sachs were politically motivated, in timing if not in substance.

Regardless, Mr. Blankfein got the message, telling Goldman Sachs shareholders last week that he would try to rebuild the company’s image. He called up other bailed-out institutions that are being threatened with federal charges–Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase–and got them to cough up millions for ShoreBank. So although the ShoreBank bailout is “private,” American taxpayers are still indirectly on the hook.