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According to TFA that's not how it works in Europe: if you deliberately run up costs, the court will not assign them to the loser. Only reasonable fees are pass
by ldar15 15y ago
According to TFA that's not how it works in Europe: if you deliberately run up costs, the court will not assign them to the loser. Only reasonable fees are passed on to the loser. And the loser can challenge.
- vannevar 15y agoA big corporation can run up an awful lot of perfectly legitimate legal fees. And the challenge remedy is not going to be much comfort to an indigent plaintiff as it's unlikely his lawyer is going to take that challenge on contingency.
- groby_b 15y agoAt least in Germany, what is a reasonable fee is strictly regulated and tied to the total value disputed. At the very least, you'll know the cost (roughly) at the outset of the case. Good luck trying that kind of regulation in the US.
- a5seo 15y ago@vannevar you have obviously never been sued or threatened on a meritless claim by a multi billion $ company. Loser pay is a significant equalizer because let's say the case is speech related, the ACLU will defend you all day long necuase their attorneys get paid in the end. I imagine other attorneys would take up your defense for similar reasons...
- vannevar 15y agoHow often is an individual sued by a corporation on a free speech case, compared to the number of times individuals sue corporations because they've been harmed? I'd guess that ratio is something on the order of 1000 to 1 or more in favor of individuals suing corporations. Unless you're Oprah, it's pretty unlikely that a corporation is ever going to sue you for something you say.
- a5seo 15y agoLook through any local ACLU chapters' case list and you'll find plenty. Or read http://reason.com/blog/2008/12/10/slapp-silly http://reason.com/blog/2008/12/10/slapp-silly -- that is an archetypal case. Environmental activists, whistleblowers, online reviewers. Lawsuits are the perfect way to shut them up, no matter how much of a effing farce they are. And for every 1 case that actually gets filed as a suit, my guess is there are hundreds of c&d letters sent.
- vannevar 15y agoOh, I agree such suits exist, though SLAPP suits against individuals are still pretty rare. I'm just saying that I believe the ratio of ordinary suits by individuals against corporations is several orders of magnitude more common.
- vannevar 15y agoGood luck trying that kind of regulation in the US. Indeed, it's about as likely as getting Germany's system of universal health care here. It just reinforces the fact that conservatives favor draconian government regulations when they benefit corporate interests but argue against those that benefit the public at large.