You can't do anything nice

[reanjr]

I'm sorry, but this was in a rural area. If it was the inner city then, yeah, you might have just cause to freak. But where THEY were? Nope. Frivolous lawsuit, period. End of story. I have spoken, and my word is the LAW.

Uh... in a city, you are ten feet from your nearest neighbor and 5 minutes between phone call and poilce protection. In the country, you are half a mile from any human contact and half an hour drive for the police. I know where I would be more scared of something happening to me.

Crime happens in the city because people are in the city. You never see muggings in the middle of a field of cows because there are no people there. But a knock at the door indicates that there IS someone there, and therefore you are in way more danger than you would be in the city.

Not to say the lady is not a waste of life or anything...

 

[reanjr]

You can't take away her right to take the case to court without setting a precedent and you can't arbitrarily dismiss her claim of damages just because she asked for punitive rewards as well - because it would also set up a precedent that other people would take advantage of.

I don't know where the case was held, but it was probably in a lower court that doesn't set precedent. A court only need follow precedent set by a higher court. They don't even need to follow precedent set by their own court. By dismissing the claim, you are simply forcing the plaintiff to appeal to a higher court at investment of time and money. I think this is a good idea.

[edit] I just read that it was held in Small Claims court. I pray the people of the district vote this judge out. This court sets no precedent at all. The case should have been thrown out, and the judge should have snickered while doing so.

 

[reanjr]

My guess is this custom is not common. You can't fault the lady in this case for getting scared. Everyone responds to things in different ways. Maybe she was robbed before or even worse. You don't know and you can't assume.

My aunt does this around Christmas time. My neighbor also does this. I guess it depends on your definition of common, but three references from this message board alone isn't exactly rare.

And I certainly fault the lady for being irrationally scared and not dealing with her emotional problems in a constructive manner.

 

[Stone Angel]

OK I went out and celebrated fat tuesday tonight. I am really drunk right now, will problably have to call into work tommorrow. It has taken a long time to write this much.

Anyway I stopped and helped a guy that had car trouble in my neighborhood, this lady probably would have suued for at least a million dollars for just pulling up be side her and rolling my windows down.

I agree twith henry a 100 percent.


The Seraph of Earth and STone

 

[reanjr]

While I have to appreciate the girls for trying something to spice up everyones' lives, where I'm from, you just don't randomly knock on a door at 10:30 at night, run away, and expect not to have some people freak. Of course, two underage girls just don't go out at night by themselves around here, and we're a pretty small college town.

I just can't understand the level of fear people have in life. It's a wonder this country goes on. I grew up in Detroit (the most dangerous place to live in America at the time, and since crime is down since my child hood, it was more dangerous during my childhood than any place in America is today), and I still don't see it.

People need to learn to cope with their issues. The legal system shouldn't support their delusions. We live in a safe country. People just need to accept that and stop looking for bogeymen.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

John Stossel's book talks about frivolous lawsuits in this country. Very interesting read. I highly recommend it. Basically, he says that the U.S. is one of the few countries where you can sue, and you suffer no loss if you don't win. In other words, in most countries of the world, if you lose the case, you have to pay the other guy's legal fees. Not here. So, as a result people sue with impunity.

It depends on which state you are in. New York State for example has laws against frivolous lawsuits, I found out about their law when Uri Geller sued the Amazing Randi for proving he was a fake.

The court declared that Mr. Geller had to pay Randi's court costs. He took a good many years to do so I am afraid.

The Auld Grump

 

[reanjr]

apples with razorblades in them?

This is practically urban legend (though not quite). There have been ten cases of this since 1959. Everyone must think they are really special to be the one person every two years to bite into an intentionally placed metal object (which, by the way, cause some pain, a few stitches and are almost invariably placed by a relative).

Yet no one (few) panics about getting in their car. Lightning strikes (73 deaths a year according to US weather service). Meteor strikes (extrapolated from a major meteor strike every 35 million years and 6 billion people, death toll would be an estimated 100 people per year).

You take necessary precautions and get on with your life.

 

[reanjr]

AMEN Brother. If I lived within 50 miles of her, I would do it myself.

Come one now, that's worth at least 100 miles. Round trip 4 hours. Have lunch while you're out and stop at the grocery store for supplies, maybe another hour. A single Saturday afternoon, $1.50, and a quarter tank of gas and you'vfe made the world a better place.

 

[reanjr]

Alright. Is it possible to revoke my membership in the human race or have I waited too long?

Alas, upon cognizance of being Human, you only have a short window (30 days; 90 days if defective).

 

[IceFractal]

Did something change just recently? Since when are doors considered so private that you need permission to knock on them?

Say you call someone on the phone and they, on the way to answering it, slip, break a whole shelf full of expensive stuff, and then hurt their back and require surgery. That's unfortunate, and it is technically a consequence of you calling them, but should they then be allowed to sue you? No, it is not your fault, legally or otherwise, even though your phone call caused it; any more than it's your fault if you swat a fly that would have, if unswatted, have distracted someone long enough to prevent them stepping into traffic and getting hit (an extreme example, but still).

You shouldn't be able to sue someone for something they didn't do.