so there's a guy that's suing Michael Jordan and Nike because people keep asking him if he's Michael Jordan.
Seems fair. I'm not sure why he's not suing North Carolina or the Bulls though.
Christopher Roller of Burnsville, Minn. Roller is mystified by professional magicians, so he sued David Blaine and David Copperfield to demand they reveal their secrets to him -- or else pay him 10 percent of their lifelong earnings, which he figures amounts to $50 million for Copperfield and $2 million for Blaine. The basis for his suit: Roller claims that the magicians defy the laws of physics, and thus must be using "godly powers" -- and since Roller is god (according to him), they're "somehow" stealing that power from him.
Sure. Why not?
So they sue Copperfield, Blain, Jordan and Nike. I end up paying $400 for tickets to their magic shows and $300 for their shoes. I pay more for a Big Mac because somebody spilled coffee on their lap. There was a lady who sued two teenage boys who were delivering free cookies to their neighbors...and they scared her by knocking on her door. She won $900, by the way.
I was on Jury duty when a lawyer asked, "does anyone think that this lawsuit against this insurance company could affect insurance rates?"
me: um...yeah....it's a real expence that the company has to pay to be here, to pay their lawyers, to possibly have to pay....
Lawyer: that'll be all - We ask that this juror be excused your honor.
So the flip side is some company getting away with horrific things, all the while knowing that they'll only have to pay so much if they're caught. (if there were some sort of cap on these lawsuits)
According to USA Today:
CEOs didn't even escape this summer's sci-fi releases: Halle Berry becomes Catwoman due to skin cream made addictive; Dr. Otto Octavius turns villain in Spider-Man 2 in a gone-haywire attempt to make a profit; and I, Robot exposes the ultimate warranty hassle when products made by U.S. Robotics start killing humans because sleazy executives in 2035 try to cut a few corners.
and...
About the only villains left are terrorists and CEOs -- and terrorists will probably be portrayed as sympathetic long before CEOs, says Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.
So is tv right? I've grown accustomed to drawing most of my opinions from conclusions I've come to after watching episodes of Entertainment Tonight. If Oprah tells me that lawyers are good and corporations are bad, shouldn't I trust her? She's Oprah after all...
So what's a boy to do?
I'm thinking of a law suit against the estate of Julia Child, who passed away before revealing her favorite cooking wine, thus I have spent $42,567. trying every wine I could to duplicate her recipes.
ReplyDeleteSTOP THE INSANITY!
I came across the following excerpt from Copperfield's defense in the suit by Roller, and I think that the last sentence is the best:
ReplyDelete"Seeing as how Roller has never worked for Copperfield in any capacity anywhere ever and has no relation to Copperfield whatsoever, he has no claim currently nor could he ever have an employment or labor claim against Copperfield. Plaintiff's Complaint is best described as a claim for usurpation of godly powers, which as this Court is aware, is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court or any court of this earth."
Incidentally, Roller is also suing the Bush Administration "for conspiring chaos on planet Earth." I'll let you all form your own opinions on that one.
Companies need to be accountable for their sales tactics and inferior products. I don't feel too bad for the CEOs of the world.
ReplyDeleteThey hire marketing specialists (just like the jury specialists you mentioned) that pressure my kids' friends (after I've tried to lessen their direct pressure by limiting my kids' TV watching) to buy inferior and expensive products. I"ve taught my kids not to succumb to the endless, high pressure of TV commercials but what about their friends who pressure them? My kids are good kids but, geez, how much pressure can a kid take? Is it even ethical to put such high pressure on kids through marketing? The big companies pressure adults too? Why else is credit card debt building and bankrupting so many people? They tell us we need products that we don't. Tell us our lives will be better. Even if we don't succumb to their tactics, society, as a whole is succumbing. Adults, too, succumb to peer pressure.
If you get rid of/limit the ability to sue, you get rid of that ability for people with legitimate claims as well. Companies wouldn't have to do recalls anymore of dangerous products. My child's scooter fell apart when she was riding on it. Where was quality control? They recalled it because of a lawsuit and my child (rightfully) got a new scooter.
If that Big Mac becomes too expensive, then express your right to boycott buying it until the price comes down. Then $1 out of the $3 it costs won't go to buying the CEO a new mansion.
at some point that always plays into it - buying the CEO a new mansion...or boat...or island
ReplyDeletethey're the enemy
they have too much money
they shouldn't have so much money
part of the problem here is that suing a company has nothing to do with toy recalls - the government doesn't sue companies, but it does regulate them and that's why we have recalls - it's not even part of the discussion of lawsuits
it's hard to pin peer pressure on the big companies - take away tv, radio and billboard= ads...and people will still talk about their new toy and make others want the same thing
it's ok if one of us sues one of them because they have stuff that they don't need...and we deserve it more than them - it just seems like dressed up jealousy....and in the end, frivolous lawsuits end up hurting the people who can't afford a $3 Big Mac or $20 for a bag of diapers
I disagree and can back it up. But it's your blog. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteIn my world, companies and CEO's are to blame. In your world, it's lawyers and lawsuits. Ultimately neither your opinion nor my opinion really matter. Prices will continue to rise and pretty soon the middle class and lower classes will be homeless because we can afford neither rent nor mortgage. Then civil war will ensue, rich people will say "let them eat cake" due to their total obliviousness about anyone else's plight and we'll behead them.
ReplyDeleteDon't go all political on us, Murph...
ReplyDeletecan't we just talk about Bob Saget?
Bob Saget went hip hop. The world is over.
ReplyDeleteSaget's never been better. Jamie Kennedy's - Rollin with Saget. I had to watch it twice to see if it was really him. It was.
ReplyDeleteSara,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you thoughts, but you're putting words into my mouth. In my world there are some selfish CEO's and some selfish people suing companies to selfishly get rich quick. I really don't lump them all together because there are great people doing running companies and great people who have no choice but to retaliate through the courts.
I just don't see it quite as one sided as you do....and probably don't buy into the stereotypes that are perpetuated of either on tv.
It strikes me that the guy suing Copperfield is most likely mentally ill, thus is probably not a great case for discussion of the "selfishness of people". The argument for frivolous lawsuits stands, though, I suppose. Slippery slope, however, to litigate around what "frivolous" is, as this changes with the beholder.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to know how much $ actually goes to companies paying for frivolous lawsuits, and how much this drives up prices. We hear about these cases because they are sensational, but do they actually represent enough $ to drive up prices? My guess is that most lawsuits are not frivolous.
As for the cases that you identified, do you have any links so I could look over the facts of the case and the outcome and have an educated opinion about whether or not I think they're frivolous? I never know what to believe, but when the McDonald's coffee case happened a few years ago, I joined the masses in saying "ridiculous"! Then I heard some other facts on the case and I thought there may be something to it. But that was also a sort of "group opinion" which may have just represented some backlash.
I'm very leery of making judgements based on some groupthink story that passes through the culture. They seem to often represent an opinion unconsciously chosen by the group, and justify faith or outrage that leads to action or inaction not based in reality.
Murph, you're writing a lot about waste recently, so I wonder if that is what this entry is really about. You seemed frustrated with yourself in particular at points, so I wondered if this is where some of that heat comes from?
The correct way to influence companies is to for consumer groups and then boycott them.
ReplyDeleteUsing the government to strong-arm companies into indulging your own fantasies or absolve yourself of all individual responsibility is morally equivalent to paying the mafia to extort an individual or group of people to do what you want.
The government has turned into the mafia for liberal interest groups.
Tonight, Ken Lay sleeps with the fishes.
No, George W has turned the government into the mafia for right wing interest groups. Open your eyes! This country hasn't been liberal since Reagan took office. Take it from a liberal.
ReplyDelete