Tied the Leader: The Culture of Litigation

“XerxDeeJ”:http://www.blogger.com/profile/5219727 “writes”:http://tiedtheleader.blogspot.com/2005/12/culture-of-litigation.html about one of my pet peeves — “people who sue”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051205/tc_nm/media_xbox_dc to epic levels over ridiculously petty and ultimately trivial issues. In this case we have a gamer who recently purchased an Xbox 360 console that has a problem with overheating. Rather than call up Microsoft and get a replacement, this gentleman feels he has to sue the company for an undetermined amount. DeeJ’s analysis of the story is spot-on; I couldn’t agree with him more.

I have to wonder how we as a nation got to where we are. These days, anyone can sue pretty much anyone over just about anything, no matter how ridiculous. Frivolous litigation has become an easy way to make a buck. I blame it partly on the people who have ramped up the volume of litigation cases, but I think I place most of the blame on judges who should know better than to allow these sorts of cases get beyond the initial paperwork. There are a lot of cases that merit laughter at their ridiculous and petty nature, that judges should dismiss immediately with just the merest hint of a chuckle.

This is not to contemn those cases that are legitimate, where actual injury or felonious behavior occur. And in such cases, I can sometimes condone litigation for excessive damages, depending on the offender, the nature of the crime, and the import of the lesson to be learned. There is a time and a place for litigation, but I think it might be possible to reduce the current levels by at least half, possibly as much as two-thirds, if only our court systems would cease trying to be politically correct all the time and our judges would stop trying to make a name for themselves and actually practice law with some degree of wisdom. A little bit of discernment and common sense go a long way, and since the average citizen seems to be in short supply of both, the people who have been trained to supposedly know better should make up the lack. Throw out frivolous lawsuits, and let people live their lives without fear of getting screwed over by every Joe Schmoe who’s looking to make a quick buck. Believe me, we’d all be a lot happier for it.

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