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> but it also happened to align with the public interest. That is debatable and also the problem. What if it didn't align with the public interest? Is it ok th

> but it also happened to align with the public interest. That is debatable and also the problem. What if it didn't align with the public interest? Is it ok then?

darawk 10y ago
Yes. It is always ok to finance a lawsuit. The premise of our legal system is that optimal adversaries debating in front of an impartial judge produce the best possible outcome. If Hogan wasn't able to finance the lawsuit on his own, that would be the perversion of justice. But if our court system operates as it should, and there is no indication to my knowledge that it has not in this case, then billionaires funding legal teams should only enhance the level of justice available to all. If the above is not true, then that is a problem with the court system, not a problem with people funding each other's lawsuits.
- zardgiv 10y ago
  It's not to say that this is what happened here, but our legal system disagrees that it's always OK to finance a lawsuit (see SLAPP).
  - eudox 10y ago
    Certainly, but a characteristic of SLAPP is the plaintiff hasn't got a solid case, their purpose is to drag legal procedures long enough to bankrupt their target. Hulk Hogan won this lawsuit fair and square.
    - zardgiv 10y ago
      Of course, I was merely addressing the claim that it's always OK to fund lawsuits.
  - pkinsky 10y ago
    That is not true. Our legal system views some lawsuits as themselves being illegitimate attempts to silence people by forcing them to defend against frivolous, meritless lawsuits (see SLAPP). It does not view lawsuits as SLAPP-worthy merely because based on who's paying the bill.
- saint_fiasco 10y ago
  Spending lots of money on lawsuits has the effect of increasing the demand on lawyers (making them more expensive for other people) and courts (making them more slow for other cases). The resources the justice system spent chasing Thiel's personal vendetta could have been used for cases other people think are more important. That's why other people complain about it.

> but it also happened to align with the public interest. That is debatable and also the problem. What if it didn't align with the public interest? Is it ok then?

darawk 10y ago

Yes. It is always ok to finance a lawsuit. The premise of our legal system is that optimal adversaries debating in front of an impartial judge produce the best possible outcome. If Hogan wasn't able to finance the lawsuit on his own, that would be the perversion of justice. But if our court system operates as it should, and there is no indication to my knowledge that it has not in this case, then billionaires funding legal teams should only enhance the level of justice available to all. If the above is not true, then that is a problem with the court system, not a problem with people funding each other's lawsuits.

zardgiv 10y ago
It's not to say that this is what happened here, but our legal system disagrees that it's always OK to finance a lawsuit (see SLAPP).
- eudox 10y ago
  Certainly, but a characteristic of SLAPP is the plaintiff hasn't got a solid case, their purpose is to drag legal procedures long enough to bankrupt their target. Hulk Hogan won this lawsuit fair and square.
  - zardgiv 10y ago
    Of course, I was merely addressing the claim that it's always OK to fund lawsuits.
- pkinsky 10y ago
  That is not true. Our legal system views some lawsuits as themselves being illegitimate attempts to silence people by forcing them to defend against frivolous, meritless lawsuits (see SLAPP). It does not view lawsuits as SLAPP-worthy merely because based on who's paying the bill.
saint_fiasco 10y ago
Spending lots of money on lawsuits has the effect of increasing the demand on lawyers (making them more expensive for other people) and courts (making them more slow for other cases). The resources the justice system spent chasing Thiel's personal vendetta could have been used for cases other people think are more important. That's why other people complain about it.