In Jackson, Ohio, The ACLU brought suit
for just 5 individuals against the school system for having painting
of Jesus on the wall. It had been there for 50 years. The school
removed it because the suit would have cost $2M in attorney fees even
if they won. This is an example of the American Rule and why it
should be abolished.
Have you even heard of the “American
Rule?” I suspect very few folks have ever heard of this entity, but
they do know what it is. Essentially it states that each side of a
civil legal case is responsible for its own court costs no matter the
outcome of the litigation. I also suspect very few know exactly how
this came about as well.
The Treaty of Paris, ending the
American Revolution, specified that the British could sue new America
citizens for debts owed them. To make it more difficult to do so,
state legislatures passed a law know as “The American Rule.” This
law made it more improbable that the British would sue for their
debts since they would need to pay the costs of doing so. Therefore,
many of the British had very little incentive to go after their
so-called debts unless they were quite large AND could be relatively
guaranteed to be successful. Therefore, The American Rule was a
excellent ploy passed to protect American citizens from being sued
by unsavory and litigious British people.
It remained a rather insignificant
position in the legal system for many years. Beginning in the 1960's,
it seemed attorneys, seeking to increase the scope of their practices
and to substantially gain monetarily began using the American Rule to
institute a greater number of litigations even if such cases were not
warranted or had any chance of winning. These lawyers would then
receive remuneration without ever having to research the success of
their cases and even go to court. For instance, for every malpractice
case against a physician in 1960, 300 are filed now. Many automobile
claims brought forth by plaintiffs are settled for small amounts
under this rule. Should a lawyer decide to build his practice with
these cases, he would benefit financially with very little work.
All that is necessary is to threaten
to sue to go to court knowing full well the defendant would have to
pay often large sums of money to acquire an attorney and pay his own
court costs. So, these lawyers would take on great numbers of cases,
tell the defendants they would settle for a certain amount or go to
court, placing the burden of proof and payment for such proof on
their opponent. Of course, they would tell their adversary that the
cost of the legal mess would be far more than the settle amount. What
a scam! But it continues today as you witnessed above with the ACLU.
This is a constant ploy by the ACLU nowadays, manipulating the
majority through threats of a lawsuit and allowing a minority's
agenda to be enforced without due process.
Trial lawyers defend their position in
regards to the American Rule. Their defense is that they are the
private sector's answer to the police who hunt down the “bad guys”
and bring them to justice, somewhat like the Lone Ranger, I guess.
They believe there are doing what the government does not have to
spend its time and money doing.
After all, it isn't the government's
place to protect its citizens from enemies, both foreign or
domestic, is it? Well, if fact, it is! Otherwise, allowing the act
of policing anything privately, especially the public marketplace,
would eventually bring about corruption and criminality, but the
trial lawyers are there to save us from that, right?
Texas has reformed its tort system and
lowered its malpractice insurance costs by 25%.by modifying the
American Rule. Requiring the losing party to pay all costs is a much
better system since attorneys would be forced into due diligence, and
out-of-court settlements would be reduced dramatically or
eliminated.
America's economy and well being would
benefit greatly from the abolition of the American Rule and by
requiring the losing party pay for all court costs and attorney fees.
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