The Suit Run Amok

Check out this story, and just try to tell me it's not the most ridiculous thing you've seen this week. I mean, seriously, $67 Mil for a dry cleaning mistake??? C'mon now:

" Plaintiff Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington, D.C., says in court papers that he's been through the ringer over a lost pair of prized pants he wanted to wear on his first day on the bench.

He says in court papers that he has endured "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort."

He says he was unable to wear that favorite suit on his first day of work.

He's suing for 10 years of weekend car rentals so he can transport his dry cleaning to another store. [ed. note: the amount he's suing for totals $67 million]

The lawsuit is based in large part on Pearson's seemingly pained admission that he was taken in by the oldest and most insidious marketing tool in the dry cleaning industry arsenal.

'Satisfaction Guaranteed.' "

While we're on the subject of advertising slogans, here's one for you: 'Got Liability Reform??"

What does it say about the legal atmosphere we have in this country, that this Judge/plaintiff would actually take this case to court? It either means:

a) The guy feels he can win (and that speaks volumes); or
b) He feels that our court system is some kind of grievance forum, where people get to come and give other people/companies a bad name by complaining about their faults.

Of course, the above notwithstanding, the good ol' trial lawyers and their lobbyists will happily explain how this particular case, while outrageous, is not really indicative of the overall lawsuit industry (and it is an industry) in the United States - but it is. Only in U.S Court can you sue McDonalds for having hot coffee, or anyone you so choose for causing you 'emotional pain,' whatever the hell that is. Indeed, to go back to my point 'b)' above, it seems the Legal System of the United States, sadly, no longer concerns itself with Justice or common sense; instead, the Courtroom has become something of a group therapy session. People come and whine, complain, and flat-out bitch about how badly something has made them feel - which, naturally, is the jist of it. Simply put, these days people take someone else to court, not to seek justice, but in order to feel better about themselves.

In fact, for the plaintiffs, it's not so much about the money as it is just wanting to solve 'emotional' problems. The lawyers, of course, who help convince these people they have 'emotional' problems, are the ones really in it for the money. So in a nutshell: Overly-greedy Trial Lawyers + 'Emotionally-unstable' Morons = The Modern American Judicial System.

Hell of a world, huh?