$54 mil for a lost pair of pants?

LauraMax

Cathlete
For those of you who've been following this incredibly ridiculous story, what do you think?

Personally I think we live in the greatest country in the world. While I know our justice system is flawed, some of the things that makes our country great are what causes problems w/our justice system.

But for some a-hole to be able to sue a little family dry cleaning business for $54 mil b/c they lost his pants (which, BTW, they found, returned to him & offered him $12K to settle) is beyond absurdity. If this man wins his suit I will lose all faith in our justice system.

I hope the judge not only finds against him, but slams him w/the biggest fine possible for a frivolous lawsuit.
 
Unless that guy suffered some unbelievable pain and suffering from the loss of his pants (!), I don't see any judge or jury even taking this seriously.

Isn't there some limit to damages that one can ask for in each situation (barring 'pain and suffering' or punitive damages)?

I'd like to see the guy take his case before Judge Judy: she'd set him straight in no time!
 
>Do the pants have a diamond zipper?

Ah, so that's where the Hope diamond went!

Maybe they're the pant version of the Victoria's Secret diamond and gold bra that costs a million dollars or so?
 
I heard along with the diamond zipper, they are lined in pure gold and platinum. Of course this is the only way this makes ANY sense at all. It sounds like this guy (a judge!!) is a crazy lunatic!

Carolyn
 
We saw this on the news last night.

My DH said "Those must have been some nice pants..."

The whole thing is just sad. And they mentioned that the family that owns the cleaners may have to leave the country because of this. Over a pair of pants!!!!

This guy doesn't even deserve the $12k that the family offered him. Just ridiculous...
 
This whole thing is ridiculous! I feel a frown approach my face every time I hear about this. Whatever happen to throwing these kinds of cases out immediately! I think he should have to pay the store owner's legal expenses after the case is thrown out, period.
 
>Those dry cleaners need to hire Paris Hiltons attorney :7 :7
>:7

Bwahahahaha

Seriously though, it's crazy, isn't it?
 
This case reminds me of a bunch of frivolous (and RIDICULOUS!!!) lawsuits that I learned about in a business law class. There were so many that my professor told us about, but there are 3 in particular that I can remember.

1. A man who put his RV on cruise control then left the drivers seat. When the RV inevitably crashed (duh!) he sued the RV manufacturer saying that they never explicitly stated you "couldn't leave the wheel when the vehicle was in cruise control". He sued and supposedly won.

2. A burglar who broke into a family residence through the garage. Somehow was locked in the garage for days (the family was on vacation) and had nothing to survive on but dog food. Ended up suing the homeowner for pain and suffering and won.

3. Another thief...attempted to steel the chrome rims off of a parked car. The car somehow rolled back onto his hand, crushing it and resulting in multiple fractures. He sued the car owner and won.

Now...keep in mind, I am not sure of the absolute validity of the above mentioned cases, but, in today's legal climate...I wouldn't be surprised one bit if all of the above were true!!!
 
>1. A man who put his RV on cruise control then left the
>drivers seat. When the RV inevitably crashed (duh!) he sued
>the RV manufacturer saying that they never explicitly stated
>you "couldn't leave the wheel when the vehicle was in cruise
>control". He sued and supposedly won.
>
>2. A burglar who broke into a family residence through the
>garage. Somehow was locked in the garage for days (the family
>was on vacation) and had nothing to survive on but dog food.
>Ended up suing the homeowner for pain and suffering and won.
>
>3. Another thief...attempted to steel the chrome rims off of
>a parked car. The car somehow rolled back onto his hand,
>crushing it and resulting in multiple fractures. He sued the
>car owner and won.
>
>Now...keep in mind, I am not sure of the absolute validity of
>the above mentioned cases, but, in today's legal climate...I
>wouldn't be surprised one bit if all of the above were
>true!!!
>
OMG!!!!:eek: :eek:
 
I used to hear lots of stories like this from across the pond a few years ago. It was also the time when everybody in New York had a shrink. They used to say that in America you could sue for anything. Looks like things haven't changed much.

Keep us up-to-date with this. I'd love to see if he wins, then I'm moving to the US!!!!

Yen
 
Yeah I've heard about stuff like this too--the worst I heard was the burglar who sued the homeowners b/c their dog bit him.

I didn't know those poor people could be deported too. That man is just despicable!
 
I hope kharma comes around fast and bites this guy in the a$$...HARD!

FWIW, it appears that he's representing himself...

Ugh!
 
It reminds me of the lady suing McDonalds for her coffee being too hot, as well as people suing the fast food industry for making them fat. How can people get away with these frivolous law suits?
 
I have to reply to the McDonald's comment. In that particular case, what most people don't know is that the woman had to have skin grafts on her genital area because the coffee was so hot and she was burned so badly. Also, part of the award was for punitive damages because there were other instances of the same kind of problem that McDonalds failed to correct. In addition, the judge did decrease the original award.

The public doesn't always get all of the facts and it is tough to really know what really happens in the court room and what information the jurors are presented with.

Disclaimer: I haven't heard anything about the pants case so I have absolutely nothing to say about that.
 

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