inc@fluke.UUCP (Gary Benson) (08/02/85)
*** ANTIMONY TODAY FOR TOOTH DECAY *** >>> A man filed suit against a tavern for negligently serving him excessive >>> amounts of alcohol, leading to his arrest and humiliation... >>> >>> Is there any justification for this sort of thing? >> Yes there is. Anyone can sue anyone for any reason. The way one >> discovers whether the reason is on or off the wall is in the trial. > The point is that trials cost tax money. No other civilized nation, > or I supposed uncivilized ones, has as many lawsuits on as many trivial > issues as the US. Most should never come to trial in the first place. This discussion brings to mind a talk I had with my attorney a few years back. I asked his opinion of the program "People's Court" and he surprised me by saying he thought it was excellent for several reasons: first, it is a teaching tool for the great American public to learn about how disputes are really settled, what kinds of issues the judge must address, which are discretionary, and so on. He said that Wapner's role is founded in the fact of California law, and he works within that framework in his decisions. His second reason was that it shows us a way to handle silly lawsuits without tying up the overburdened court system. Maybe we need an intermediary to make a preliminary finding of merit (silliness quotient?) and then direct the disputants to other avenues: binding arbitration, Silly People's Court, or the real thing. It might also be good if the courts kept records of lawsuits per annum by individuals. I've met at least one person who was a habitual suer - she had developed the idea that there is no justice for the average person unless you at least threatened court. And reality seemed to bear out her thesis - she once loaned her car to me (very reluctantly) to move, and while I had it, another car skidded on a patch of ice and cracked a *miniscule* piece of plastic from her front grill. She told me I had to pay to have the whole grill replaced (wouldn't even let me install it). A bit of airplane cement would have made it good as new. I told her she was being ridiculous to expect that, but she only had to say the word "court" once to get me to pay up the 50 bucks. My point is that to her the 50 dollars was apparently worth more than our friendship. I really believe that if we had been able to go to a silliness counselor, I could have saved at least half the cost, and possibly the friendship. And nobody would have used expensive judicial resources on something as minor as a chunk of plastic grill. -- Gary Benson * John Fluke Mfg. Co. * PO Box C9090 * Everett WA * 98206 MS/232-E = = {allegra} {uw-beaver} !fluke!inc = = (206)356-5367 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-ascii is our god and unix is his profit-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
john@frog.UUCP (John Woods) (08/06/85)
> *** ANTIMONY TODAY FOR TOOTH DECAY *** > records of lawsuits per annum by individuals. I've met at least one person > who was a habitual suer - she had developed the idea that there is no > justice for the average person unless you at least threatened court. > > And reality seemed to bear out her thesis - she once loaned her car to me > (very reluctantly) to move, and while I had it, another car skidded on a > ... > say the word "court" once to get me to pay up the 50 bucks. My point is that > to her the 50 dollars was apparently worth more than our friendship. I > really believe that if we had been able to go to a silliness counselor, I > could have saved at least half the cost, and possibly the friendship. No, no, no, no, you should have IMMEDIATELY sued her for mental anguish, harrassment, and failure to use dental floss! It would have served her right to get a $15,000,000,000.67 judgement against her! Or, take her to Stupid People's Court, and have her soundly gonged! -- John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101 ...!decvax!frog!john, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw%mit-ccc@MIT-XX.ARPA
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (08/06/85)
> His second reason was that it shows us a way to handle silly lawsuits > without tying up the overburdened court system. Maybe we need an > intermediary to make a preliminary finding of merit (silliness quotient?) and > then direct the disputants to other avenues: binding arbitration, Silly > People's Court, or the real thing. It might also be good if the courts kept > records of lawsuits per annum by individuals. I've met at least one person > who was a habitual suer - she had developed the idea that there is no > justice for the average person unless you at least threatened court. > To be heard on People's Court, you must have already filed the lawsuit.
johnston@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA (08/06/85)
> This discussion brings to mind a talk I had with my attorney a few years > back. I asked his opinion of the program "People's Court" and he surprised > me by saying he thought it was excellent for several reasons:... > > And reality seemed to bear out her thesis - she once loaned her car to me > (very reluctantly) to move, and while I had it, another car skidded on a > patch of ice and cracked a *miniscule* piece of plastic from her front > grill. She told me I had to pay to have the whole grill replaced (wouldn't > even let me install it). A bit of airplane cement would have made it good as > new. I told her she was being ridiculous to expect that, but she only had to > say the word "court" once to get me to pay up the 50 bucks. My point is that > to her the 50 dollars was apparently worth more than our friendship. I > really believe that if we had been able to go to a silliness counselor, I > could have saved at least half the cost, and possibly the friendship. And > nobody would have used expensive judicial resources on something as minor as > a chunk of plastic grill. If YOU had watched "People's Court", you would probably have realized that you should have stood up to her threat to go to court; you probably would have won and saved yourself $50.00. As Doug Lewellyn (sp?) is so fond of saying: "If you think you're right, don't back down, take 'em to court!" - Gary Johnston USENET: ...!{pur_ee,ihnp4,convex}!uiucdcs!johnston CSNET: johnston%uiuc@csnet-relay.arpa ARPA: johnston@uiuc.arpa
ayers@convexs.UUCP (08/07/85)
/* Written 3:27 pm Aug 6, 1985 by johnston@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA in convexs:net.legal */ > And reality seemed to bear out her thesis - she once loaned her car to me > (very reluctantly) to move, and while I had it, another car skidded on a > patch of ice and cracked a *miniscule* piece of plastic from her front > grill. She told me I had to pay to have the whole grill replaced (wouldn't > even let me install it). A bit of airplane cement would have made it good as > new. I told her she was being ridiculous to expect that, but she only had to > say the word "court" once to get me to pay up the 50 bucks. My point is that > to her the 50 dollars was apparently worth more than our friendship. /* End of text from convexs:net.legal */ Nor to you either, from your statement. She trusted you with her whole car, and (while you had it) the car was damaged. All she asked was that the car be returned to its "pre-borrowed" state (not broken and not glued) just as if you had rented one (except you weren't out the rental fee). But because you weren't willing to abide by that, the two of you are no longer friends, and it's her fault. Interesting logic... Say, have YOU ever thought of being a lawyer?
todd@SCIRTP.UUCP (Todd Jones) (08/08/85)
> > His second reason was that it shows us a way to handle silly lawsuits > > without tying up the overburdened court system. Maybe we need an > > intermediary to make a preliminary finding of merit (silliness quotient?) and > > then direct the disputants to other avenues: binding arbitration, Silly > > People's Court, or the real thing. It might also be good if the courts kept > > records of lawsuits per annum by individuals. I've met at least one person > > who was a habitual suer - she had developed the idea that there is no > > justice for the average person unless you at least threatened court. > > > To be heard on People's Court, you must have already filed the lawsuit. But you must drop that suit and agree not to pursue the suit outside the People's Court in order to be a buffoon in front of millions of viewers.