Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
No, however I am a former columnist wherein the subject was constitutional law and civil liberties.
False. Court costs are paid by the litigants. Further, there is already legislation in place, wherein plaintiffs that are found to be frivolous are FINED, and attorneys SANCTIONED.
AB
This is incorrect. Not all States have such statutes and your mileage may vary. Frivolous is a pretty high standard. What you feel is "frivolous" may in fact have a cogent legal argument behind it. Whether it succeeds or not is not the basis for coloring an action "frivolous". More often than not, a party will drop a suit in return for the other party to forgo seeking costs.
It does present a strain because lawyers are not cheap. Do you know how much is costs to defend the average lawsuit? For instance, a birth injury lawsuit against a ob/gyn can run $500k to defend. Routine MVA with bodily injury? $50k. Those costs are not borne by the ob/gyn or the driver for instance. They are passed along to YOU ultimately. OB/GYN insurance rates go up, he raises his costs or more frequently, he stops delivering babies. Yeah, that benefits the public.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
Here are some facts:
1) Tort cases make up LESS than 10% of all court cases. Our courts are not even remotely "clogged" with torts. The majority of court cases are FAMILY law (i.e. divorce) and CRIMINAL. Taxpayers DO pay for ALL of the court costs related to criminal law, and often get stuck with the bill for the defendant's attorney as well. This is NOT true for torts.
AB
The above is deceptive. Different case types have different tracks thru various courts. In many States and jurisdictions, the courts are indeed clogged with tort cases - many cases taking years to reach resolution. And as I stated above, there is no "free lunch" for us just because the litigants bear the immediate costs of the lawsuit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
2) As stated, there are already protections in place to punish frivolous filers.
AB
And as I've already pointed out, these protections are impotent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
3) Frivolous suits NEVER go to trial - that is the purpose of the pre-trial meetings and hearings.
AB
To have a suit declared by a judge "frivolous" is a rare occurrence. More often than not, judges do not want to throw suits out because they want plaintiff's to have their day in front of a jury. If they let a case go to verdict, there is less chance for appeal. A judge's decision to throw a case out is subject to appeal and no judge likes to be overturned on appeal. Judges routinely bend over backwards to allow cases to go forward. You have your "facts" wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
If an attorney went after me personally, on frivolous grounds, I would then have grounds to sue him directly for damages.
AB
Easier said than done. Most lawsuit are carefully crafted to state a cause of action on legal grounds. Proving those legal allegations are another thing, but it's not as simple as saying "I'll get it thrown out".
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienBoy
But that would never happen. Because a pennyless plaintiff would never be able to AFFORD an attorney, and no attorney would take on a frivolous case on contingency. PERIOD. EVER. The few frivolous cases that you rarely hear about come about with PLAINTIFFS with a lot of time and money to WASTE hiring mediocre attorneys on an hourly basis. No pennyless plaintiff could afford such a luxury.
AB
This is also untrue. Many attorneys will take on cases they think have settlement value. And don't even get me started about med mal cases. Most juries cannot even understand the issues of medicine and plaintiff attorneys know it and exploit it and use sympathy, hired assasin experts to sway juries into big verdicts. It happens. Everyday. And you're wrong. Perhaps the subject of the OP is not a good yard stick to have this discussion, but sir you are either ignoring or unacquainted with the world of torts.
And before you question my credentials to make the above statements, I have been an insurance claims professional for over 20 years. I have personally handled or consulted on more than 10,000 lawsuits in my career, sheparding many to settlement and many more to verdict. I have reviewed the complaints, discovery and paid the legal bills. I have requested the settlement checks. I have seen it, for 20 years, from soup to nuts, in every jurisdiction in the US. And your conclusions sir, are WRONG.