posted on April 6, 2002 01:14:45 PM
Just love the lawyer jokes!
How many lawyers does it take to grease a combine?
Only one if you run him through slowly!
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You're trapped in a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake and a lawyer. You have a gun with two bullets. What should you do?
posted on April 6, 2002 01:22:41 PM
In total respect to judges, really how many of these people have/or take the time to use or read boards, or even know they exist or for what reason they exist. Back to basic instruction. What percentage of people even own computers? Lack of knowledge = paranoia
posted on April 6, 2002 01:54:49 PM
What you have to remember here is that the judge never ruled on the merits of this case, it was settled out of court.
The judge/jury never ruled on the evidence because none was demonstarted in court, there was no trial.
All that happened here was the suit was filed, and the defendants settled the case because they could not afford to persue their defence.
One guy paid the company over $4000 to settle the case, because even if he won the case, it would cost him $50,000 in legal fees etc..
There are motions you can make to have the case thrown out based solely on the pleadings, but it is rare.
After each side has discovery etc., and a base of evidence is established, you can motion to have the case thrown out. But gathering the evidence is costly, more costly than the actual trial.
Under a cost benefit analysis, settling was the thing to do.
But I still do not want losing sides to pay all legal costs. That has consequences you don't want to happen. But it can happen in the U.S., but it is again somewhat rare.
There was a case of a group of retired employees who sued their company over damages to their health from some chemical or other. They lost the case. The company asked for and was awarded legal costs. All the retirees lost their homes.
Loser paying all legal costs would ultimately put even more power into the hands of the wealthy.
posted on April 6, 2002 03:37:47 PM... because even if he won the case, it would cost him $50,000 in legal fees.
I'm sorry but that is utterly ridiculous. Even the highest-powered $500/hr. lawyer wouldn't waste 100 hours on something like this.
I'll repeat, we don't KNOW what was posted on the boards. How about this?
"XXX has the worst customer service. They ignore complaints and don't respond to emails. What a rip-off!"
Posting that on the Internet is just like standing outside the shop and stopping customers who go in, especially considering the use of META tags to snag web surfers. (This is an online company.)
You make the point of big money vs. the little guy. For one party, it's just chat. For another, it's his livelihood. He did right and if the rest had any guts they would have stood behind their words. The fact that they settled indicates they probably knew they had crossed the line.
posted on April 6, 2002 05:41:50 PM
What clinched it for me is that the guy who posted the original complaint told Salon Magazine that all he was really after was some free stuff to compensate him for his time and trouble with the order.
Now, we eBay sellers never have to deal with sucky customers who think complaining will net them free stuff...do we?
posted on April 7, 2002 08:40:41 AM
It is easy to spend over 100 billable hours on a case.
Lawyers do not set in an office and pontificate about the merits of a case. They must gather evidence and prepare, prepare, prepare. The lawyers don't know what happened, and once they do, they have to translate that information into evidence that can be used in court. There are no surprises in a courtroom, except on TV. Each side in a civil suit knows exactly what is coming up from the other side in court. All this was done and shared with the other side BEFORE going to court. Being "surprised" in court generally means malpractice, and only happens on TV.
Do you know how much it costs to depose one witness for just a couple of hours ? You have to pay the court reporter, you have to pay for the copy of the transcript, all the lawyers are present and clients must pay them. The lawyers must be paid to prepare the documents before the deposition, the lawyers charge for their time to prepare questions for the witness. The lawyers are paid for their time in going over the transcript of the deposition. All this for one witness.
All the documents relating to the case must be gathered and prepared to enter as evidence.
I know an associate at a law firm that was billing $500 an hour for he and another associate to set in an office and read a box full of love letters in a sexual harassment suit. It cost over $5000 for that box of evidence to be gone over by the lawyers.
The defendants must also make themselves available with their lawyer for deposition. They must pay for travel to what may be another state- paying for both themselves and their lawyers travel expences and time.
If the witness is in another state or the court is in another state, it gets very expensive. That's why an argument over venue can be quite a fight.
Lawyers do not give time away, that's how they make their money. Every minute spent on your case, as well as all expences relating to the case, is billed to the client.
100 or 200 billable hours hours to get to court is a small amount in a civil case. Not to mention all the other expences along the way.
Could you find a "cheaper" lawyer ? You might, but you have a multi-million dollar lawsuit which can be lost, do you want a "cheaper" lawyer ?
posted on April 7, 2002 12:00:06 PM
Lawyers are only interested in one thing: Dragging out court proceedings and maximizing their own fees. I'm sure you could find plenty who would be glad to surf porn sites for $500/hr. Regardless of the "merits" of the case.
posted on April 7, 2002 12:33:52 PM
I suppose there are lawyers who pad their hours, but there is no way to get around the expenses of preparing a case. I think too many people understand what lawyers do by watching TV shows about lawyers. There is no stringing out gathering evidence and discovery, everything the lawyer leaves undone can be the undoing of the case. Can the process be abused ? Sure it can.
Lawyers interested in money ? You bet. But I don't see any other profession working for free.
posted on April 7, 2002 12:54:16 PM
I don't get my ideas about lawyers from TV shows, or from fairy tales either.
I recently went through a long divorce/custody battle. I hired three lawyers and each one was worse than the previous. The last guy told me the case would drag on for 10 years. He refused to follow my instructions and would show up late for court, delaying proceedings by weeks and months at a time.
I finally fired the third lawyer and went into court on my own. The first time I represented myself in court the judge gave me everything I asked for. If I hadn't fired those bozos, I'd still be paying them $400/hr. to tell me how much I need them.
