Lawyers: They have a license to steal..

When does losing still mean winning?

Only America's legal system can reward losers in lawsuits. America is unique in the world. It has a legal system that does not penalize people who sue and lose. Plaintiffs need only pay on average $100 to file a suit. Lawyers can be had on contingency- a share of the reward. Lawyers always encourage contingency suits no matter the merits of the case. Plaintiffs rarely know the law and will follow their attorneys advice. If the suit is successful then everything works to the plaintiff and the attorneys favor. But what if the suit fails, what happens to the plaintiff? Nothing happens to the plaintiff. Plaintiff's attorney was on board only on a contingency so there is no cost to plaintiff.

Lawsuits are expensive to defend. Defendants always have a lot to lose. Why else would they have been sued? So even if the defendant prevailed in the first trail there is always the prospect of appeal to another court by plaintiff. This guarentees more time and money in defense- a sure loser. What happens 99% of the time? The beleagured defendant will settle for a sum of money that normally covers plaintiff's attorney's fees and costs. Thus predacious behavior is rewarded. This effective license to steal manuever is done daily across America thousands of times.

Estimates of actual tort costs and non-productive defensive behavior to guard against lawsuits go as high as 10% of America's GDP or $1 trillion. These legal costs are a major reason why manufacturing in America is non-competitive with other countries with more rational legal systems. Also the costs of healthcare are driven higher by legal costs-some estimates run as high as 40% of America's healthcare costs are padded by legal considerations.

How do we mitigate or stop predacious lawsuits? America must adopt a " loser pays " system like the rest of the world. There must be a downside to lawsuits from the plaintiffs side. Lawsuits should be a last resort. Plaintiffs who lose lawsuits should be required to pay the defendants legal fees and other costs.Our Medicare system would be somewhat easier to support if thes kind of lawsuits were mitigated.

The realities are that everyone is on a budget. This includes the federal government and tax payers. Lawyers and their clients will have to be included in a budgeted and disciplined legal system.

The main argument againsat a " loser pays " system is that less wealthy people could not afford to sue wealthier defendants. The argument is a distraction.The rest of the world finds "loser pays"an acceptable system-they have justice. Certainly our system can be streamlined to make it less costly. I will write my thoughts on how to shorten up the process another time.