Litigiousness in America
...would even be an issue, with the exception of multi-conglomerates. It is important to realize that most civil suits never make it to court. Negotiations with the defendants often result in undercompensation for the plaintiff. This undercompensation typically is not enough to cover what the plaintiff has lost financially, emotionally, and/or physically. The larger the loss suffered by the plaintiff, the larger the undercompensation (M, F&S, p.254), but the litigator is always paid regardless of the settlement size. Although the following example is not a personal injury case with tremendous losses, the outcome clearly illustrates the previous notion. The editorialists of Denver's Rocky Mountain News (Jul. 25) are critical of the settlement of a class action suit against AT&T Wireless said to be worth a maximum of $20 million in coupons, airtime and other benefits. Under the deal, most former subscribers will be offered non-cash benefits with a value not to exceed $3, while current subscribers will be offered non-cash benefits with an estimated average value of $10.50. Denver law firm Hill & Robbins (see also Jun. 9) is asking for $3 million cash in fees, plus $750,000 in expenses. The suit challenged the cell-phone company's practice of delayed roaming charge billing, under which some roaming fees were not charged to customers' bills until the next month, resulting in a detriment to those customers who had used up all their allotted minutes in the later month. See also John Accola, "Lawyers' bonanza in AT&T lawsuit", Scripps Howard/Sun, Jul. 20 (Colorado Civil Justice League) (overlawyered.com). It seems obvious that AT&T and the attorneys representing the class are both winners in this case. The lawyers get paid cash money and AT&T pays nothing out of pocket to the plaintiffs, in turn, making their losses minimal. Corporations like AT&T attempt to make the general population look litigious, when they and the government are more responsible for clogging the courts for various reasons. For instance, the largest increase in federal court cases were from the government 1) suing individuals for overpayment of veterans’ benefits and 2) suits for reinstatement of social security benefits by people who lost their benefits due to new governmental policy. Alone, cases like these account for nearly half of the total increase in federal cases over the last decade. State tort filings rose by nine percent between 1978 and 1984 while the population grew by 8 percent over the same period. Overall, tort filings increased by forty-six percent and product liability cases rose by two hundred and seventy-two percent. Of these, single products such as asbestos and IUD’s injured millions of people, resulting in major class action suits. So far, we have touched on single client suits and class action suits from one perspective. Nevertheless, how do most people feel about excess litigation? There are vastly different camps surrounding the outskirts of litigiousness. One camp is very outspoken about their opinion that the United States has become too litigious. The members of this particular community consist of corporations who claim to be on the receiving end of many frivolous lawsuits. On the other side of the tracks, lies a community who believes: The civil justice system stands as a beacon of fairness in a world where clout and influence often predominate. Individuals who are neither wealthy nor well connected can bring huge multinational conglomerates into court to account for wrongful and injurious actions (Peck, p. 24) John Church Jr. believes that litigation allowed him to fight unfair discharge when the company he worked for (Emery) was taken over by another (Consolidated Freightways). Church was fired for what he interpreted to be ageism. The company who purchased his place of employment promised his future was secure with them and that he would retain his job when the takeover was finalized. Ultimately, he was discharged and replaced by younger workers with less experience and fewer qualifications. Under the Equal Opportunity Employment Act, discharge, based on age alone is illegal. Church became part of a class action suit that awarded the class a total of 13.5 million dollars. Of the awarded amount, attorneys received 4.5 million dollars, approximately thirty percent of the recovery. While this seems like an exorbitant amount, Church, and others like him were pleased with their personal settlements. Would they have been as satisfied if tort reform laws had been in force? Robert Peck (p.24-25) states that manufacturers frequently make business decisions based on what will cost them less money, a recall of a product or lawsuits, for instance. Our guarantee of access to the justice system ensures that a person, if harmed by the result of such decisions, may seek compensation despite the wealth of the corporations and their insurance companies. These companies deceive the media and society with the stories of unscrupulous lawsuits resulting in “runaway” jury verdicts. They often deny harm or injury caused by their products. The ...