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Shop ‘Til You Drop.
We’d like to welcome you to this month’s issue
of the Lawyers Stink E-mail Newsletter. If you’re already a subscriber,
you should be receiving this newsletter each and every month. If you
haven’t already subscribed, you can do so by entering your email address
in the box on the left. Today we’re going to discuss a topic near and dear
to the hearts personal injury and class action lawyers nationwide (do
lawyers really have hearts?), which is the concept of venue shopping.
Just like the blue light special draws customers to the part of the Kmart
store where the bargains are being marketed, the concept of venue shopping
allows lawyers to find the best venues (courtrooms) to file their
lawsuits. This concept has been refined to a fine art by enterprising
class action lawyers nationwide. Class action lawyers routinely “shop” for
venues that are renown for siding with the plaintiffs in class action
lawsuits. By bringing their cases in front of plaintiff friendly judges
and juries, the lawyers immeasurably enhance their probability of securing
a large jury award. These class action lawyers readily recognize that
finding a friendly jury is 90% (or more) of winning the lawsuit.
And a friendly jury is exactly what the class action lawyers find as they
bring more and more lawsuits into specific state courts in lieu of
pursuing their class action litigation in federal courts. This
questionable practice has many screaming foul. Critics of venue shopping
point out that these class action lawyers, who bring one class action
lawsuit after another into specific state courts, are more interested in
searching out sympathetic judges and juries than in looking for evidence
to support the alleged wrongdoing. The class action lawyers, on the other
hand, just say they are looking for the best place to right a wrong
against their clientele. Either way, the stakes are high and getting even
higher.
Class action lawyers, who bring together a class of people claiming to
have been similarly injured or aggrieved by a company or product under the
umbrella of a single lawsuit, venue shop for two very big reasons. Number
one, they want to win – since these class actions are brought forward on a
contingent fee arrangement wherein the lawyers get paid only if they
prevail in court. Which leads us to the even more important second reason.
These lawyers get a huge percentage of any money recovered, so the more
money recovered – the more money the lawyers put in their pockets.
Lawyers on both sides are pointing the finger at the other, citing how the
opponent is guilty of venue shopping. The lawyers representing the
defendants point out what they see as an egregious misapplication of the
law. They point out how class action lawyers bring their lawsuits in
counties where they expect the most favorable treatment, even if the
alleged injury or grievance occurred elsewhere. The class action lawyers,
not to be outdone, say the defendants set up their legal agent in counties
where juries tend to be a bit more conservative in nature. Presently,
class action lawyers are winning the argument and winning big in the
courtrooms as well (click
class action lawsuit update to review various
class action lawsuits nationwide).
There are a number of these pro-plaintiff environments scattered across
the country and the class action lawyers have found each and every one.
The court dockets in these plaintiff friendly areas are crammed full of
class action lawsuits. Take the asbestos class action lawsuits for
example. Many of these lawsuits are filed in the same counties where
juries have awarded very large judgments in the past. In fact, in one
county of Mississippi, there are more product liability plaintiffs
(combined members of the various class action lawsuits filed) than there
are residents in the county.
Class action lawyers especially like these plaintiff friendly counties.
Many believe that the makeup of the jury pools, comprised primarily of the
areas’ working class residents who have a history of struggling with lost
factory or industrial jobs, creates pent-up feelings of anger and distrust
towards big business that heavily favors the class action lawyers. These
feelings translate into big bucks for the class action lawyers.
Once a class action lawyer has hit pay dirt in a certain county, he or she
will make every effort to bring subsequent actions in that same county.
End result: big companies are increasingly inclined to pony up and settle
these class action lawsuits rather than risk getting hammered even worse
by the pro-plaintiff/anti big business judge and juries. So if the lawyer
wants to file his case in Ratskunk County where Uncle Clem is the judge,
there’s not much there to stop him from doing so.
Net result: corporations will continue to get pummeled with one class
action lawsuit after another. These litigation costs will ultimately be
passed on down the line to the companies’ consumers. As is always the case
when lawyers are involved, those on the bottom of the economic ladder
always get hit the hardest. Always.
Until effective legislation is enacted to curb venue shopping, class
action lawyers will continue to shop ‘til they drop. See you next month!
As always, we wish you a lawyer free day!
Hey, if you’ve got a goofy lawsuit you’d like to pass on to us, simply
click
Stupid Lawsuits and Other Funny Stuff and we’ll add yours to
our ever growing list of stupid lawsuits.
And while you’re at in, why not take a few moments and check out our
growing collection of
Funny Lawyer
Quotes, Jokes and Cartoons?
It’s
Time to Wake Up and Smell the Lawyers
Book: If you haven’t read our highly acclaimed book, you’re missing out on
a load of information about America’s legal system – and a load of laughs
as well. You can read excerpts taken from the book by clicking
book
chapter summaries here.
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