Step-by-step guides for filing lawsuits are now displayed on the Internet. Cut-and-paste lawsuit kits are being made available to plaintiffs’ lawyers. Attorneys are on constant prowl to find something deep-pocket corporations can be sued for. The U.S. devotes twice as much of its gross domestic product on tort cases as any other industrialised country.
Critics wonder if the nation hasn’t gone litigation mad.
Observers report that only hours after a big company gets into trouble, plaintiffs’ attorneys begin churning out dozens of suits across the country, while coalitions of class-action law firms mount sophisticated, multi-pronged legal, political and mass-media attacks against entire industries which can drive multi-million dollar companies into bankruptcy.
Some of the actions are, of course, justified. But the thirst for high-priced settlements and judgements drives some law firms to launch almost laughable actions.
Source: Mike France, The Litigation Machine, Business Week, January 29, 2001.
For more on Litigation Costs http://www.ncpa.org/pd/law/tcr/index5f.html
