Do you See Many Lawsuits as Frivolous, or Just Called Frivolous?

Question

I Think we Are Likely to Hear About the Frivolous Ones.

Thanks coragryph.

Thanks perfectvelvet, as I Suspected.

Old Scout, Yeah Some Porportionality Would Be Nice.

Answer 1

We are much more likely to hear (on the news) about the frivolous ones -- remember, there are thousands of lawsuits filed a day in most states -- tens of thousands filed every day across the US.

And "frivolous" has a specific legal meaning -- it means there is no valid basis in law for the claim of harm, and no valid request for ANY relief -- which is a much more difficult threshold to fall below than most people think.

Also remember, the amount of money asked for is NOT part of the determination whether a lawsuit is frivolous -- because the damages are determined AFTER the actual merits of the claim are determined.

Example: you take your pants to the cleaners and they get lost -- you sue the cleaners for a million dollars. As far as the court is concerned, the lawsuit actually says "suit for conversion (loss of personal property), damages to be determined" -- that's not a frivolous claim, because at the very least, the cleaners would be responsible for the cost of the pants, and maybe whatever it cost you to drive to the store to buy new pants -- that's the actual damages that the person would win, based on the loss of the pants.

Which makes the request for a million dollars silly and ridiculous (and disingenous, for procedural reasons) but the lawsuit itself wouldn't be frivolous -- the loss of the pants is a valid claim that would entail some relief.

Answer 2

One thing people do not realize is what they are hearing in the news is an extremely watered down version of a lawsuit. Cases would not make it through court if they were truly frivolous, and they would be thrown out.

Take, for example, the McDonald's coffee which burned the woman. I bet most people do not know the true story behind it and assume it is frivolous because obviously coffee is hot and she shouldn't get to sue for that. The coffee was scalding - over 180 degrees fahrenheit. She suffered third degree burns. The only compensation she wanted was her medical bills paid, somewhere around $20,000. Why did the court award so much more? Because McDonald's lied on the stand; they knew coffee at that temperature would scald, but they continued to serve it as such when all they had to do was reduce the temperature by about 10 degrees. The jury thought their conduct was extremely egregious and awarded a huge sum as punishment. That sum, however, was greatly reduced by the judge, and the plaintiff did not see anywhere near that amount. Do you think it's frivolous now?

The law has received such a bad reputation that I'm not surprised people see many suits as frivolous, but the truth of the matter is the bad suits are weeded out and nothing is ever awarded.

Answer 3

Yes, ever wonder why consumer prices are so high? Take this last frap about breast cancer and the medication. If that drug company goes under, then there will be less competition and that will further increase the costs of all medication. This is getting ridiculous. I have to wonder where they get the juries to give such verdicts.