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If there's one local story from 2007 that Washington D.C. taxpayers are unlikely to forget, it's the saga of former administrative law judge Roy Pearson and his multi-million dollar pants lawsuit. The defendants in the lawsuit, the Chung family, were eventually forced to close their Custom Cleaners location in Northeast D.C., and they received an outpouring of support from the community as they sought to defend themselves against what was clearly a ridiculous lawsuit.
At the time, there was also some concern that the Chungs had found themselves becoming poster children for the tort reform movement, since groups like the Institute for Legal Reform and the American Tort Reform Association threw a big fundraiser to help them with their legal defense fees. Recently, the ILR kicked off a new "lawsuit abuse" campaign and launched the web site IAmLawsuitAbuse.org, which features the Chungs prominently in a video and narrative about how the U.S. legal system crushed their American dream.
We've posted the video above. It's pretty heartwrenching to watch Jin and Soo Chung come to tears over the stress that Pearson's $54 million suit brought them. But it's also pretty startling to see powerful lobbying groups for business interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hold up the Chungs, who were the victims of a lawsuit so unusual and outlandish that it earned international media attention and a relatively quick dismissal, as being representative of larger problems within the U.S. legal system. Does one Roy Pearson mean tort reform is imperative? We're not so sure.
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The Chungs' attorney should have filed a motion for summary judgment as soon as he could. And the judge should have granted it and tossed out Pearson's complaint. Not really sure why the judge let the case go on for as long as it did.
Well, if you worked at a law firm instead of a blog ;) you'd probably see more abuse.
But no, there will be no tort reform. Trial lawyers (along with unions) prop up the entire Democratic party, so as long as they control the Hill, there will be no change. Many of these tort reform groups are focusing on state legislatures as a result, and getting decent results there.
"Trial lawyers (along with unions) prop up the entire Democratic party, so as long as they control the Hill, there will be no change."
Then what was going on between 1994 and 2006?
True. They were busy with [larry craig joke]
What's been called "frivolous" lawsuits make up a small fraction of most cases in civil court today. In fact, in most jurisdictions, if an attorney files a lawsuit deemed "frivolous" they're usually referred to the ethics committee.
Trial Lawyers certainly contribute to the Democrats on a regular basis, but their contributions are only small to moderately sized, so they are certainly not "propping up the democrats." Corporate contributions remain as the bulk of the amount given to that party. PS: There are indeed plenty of Republican Trial Lawyers. Nice guys who have conservative values such as being compensated for injury at the fault of someone else's negligence.
Lawsuits are sometimes the only way to prevent or receive compensation from companies doing unspeakably harmful things to people. Just ask PG & E and why they had to cough up over $400 Million to about 600 plaintiffs in Hinckley, CA.
So seriously, shut the fuck up about this "tort reform" nonsense unless you've got personal experience.