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How come loser pays works well in the rest of the world? Because that's not how loser pays works :) You don't pay a million dollars a day, you pay a reasonable

by jules 15y ago

How come loser pays works well in the rest of the world? Because that's not how loser pays works :) You don't pay a million dollars a day, you pay a reasonable price instead; they pay the rest. Also, loser pays is not decided on the whole case, but on specific subcases. So the suing party is less likely to use the shotgun approach where they throw every claim and the kitchen sink in, in the hope that they at least win something. Also, if you claim $1M damages, and the judge awards you $1k, that counts as a (partial) loss. So it also ends ridiculously high claims. > Nearly every Western democracy, other than the United States, follows the "English rule," which requires the loser of a civil suit to compensate the winner for his or her attorney's fees. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_rule There is much much more suing going on in the US than in Europe and the prime reason is that Europe has a loser pays system.

monochromatic 15y ago
> There is much much more suing going on in the US than in Europe This will be an unpopular opinion, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. How many wronged plaintiffs in Europe end up never having their day in court because of the threat of paying the other party's attorneys fees?
- orp 15y ago
  Almost none. When people think they're in the right - they sue (or defend). Further, because of the 'loser pays' system, if the case is obviously bogus or blown up, often a lawyer will agree to take up a defense just for the right to claim the other side's expenses (e.g. instead of paying the lawyer, the lawyer takes a relatively small fee plus the right to any 'expense fees' leveled on the other side). In addition, I believe that in most of Europe lawyers cost a lot less than they do in the US (certainly so in Israel), to which a contributing factor is that less litigation going on.
  - monochromatic 15y ago
    > in most of Europe lawyers cost a lot less than they do in the US As a lawyer, I don't see how this is a positive thing :) But seriously, nobody knows how many cases there are at the margin that don't get brought due to the loser pays system. Neither system is perfect though, and I can certainly make arguments in favor of either.

by jules 15y ago

monochromatic 15y ago

> There is much much more suing going on in the US than in Europe This will be an unpopular opinion, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. How many wronged plaintiffs in Europe end up never having their day in court because of the threat of paying the other party's attorneys fees?

orp 15y ago
Almost none. When people think they're in the right - they sue (or defend). Further, because of the 'loser pays' system, if the case is obviously bogus or blown up, often a lawyer will agree to take up a defense just for the right to claim the other side's expenses (e.g. instead of paying the lawyer, the lawyer takes a relatively small fee plus the right to any 'expense fees' leveled on the other side). In addition, I believe that in most of Europe lawyers cost a lot less than they do in the US (certainly so in Israel), to which a contributing factor is that less litigation going on.
- monochromatic 15y ago
  > in most of Europe lawyers cost a lot less than they do in the US As a lawyer, I don't see how this is a positive thing :) But seriously, nobody knows how many cases there are at the margin that don't get brought due to the loser pays system. Neither system is perfect though, and I can certainly make arguments in favor of either.