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This is definitely the right pragmatic take. A lawyer friend of mine once laid it out for me: "in litigation, if you go to court, even if you win, you lose". T

This is definitely the right pragmatic take. A lawyer friend of mine once laid it out for me: "in litigation, if you go to court, even if you win, you lose". The reality is that court sucks, and getting sued sucks for all but the ultra-wealthy (who can absorb the cost). For those of us with less than $100MM, court is a universe to be avoided.

FirmwareBurner 1y ago
>A lawyer friend of mine once laid it out for me: "in litigation, if you go to court, even if you win, you lose" In my country we have a phrase for this exact scenario: "the punishment is the process". When the government or a powerful person wants to fuck with you, all they have to do is drag you endlessly through the court system, even knowing they'll loose. Because the experience will be 100x more painful for you to win than it is for them to loose. It's what the UK government did to the postal workers in the Fujitsu scandal.
- koakuma-chan 1y ago
  Is there a limit how many concurrent lawsuits can be thrown at one person?
  - tristor 1y ago
    No, not technically, however in the US there are the SLAPP statutes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_publ...
busterarm 1y ago
Don't underestimate this. My family members sued each other over a small inheritance. 5 kids fighting over a couple million dollars. Case has dragged out across almost 4 decades. Lawyer fees dwarfed the size of what was being fought over several times over. Some family spent time in jail for contempt of court... Family members then put up all their personal assets to keep fighting. Then they lost and were faced with a judgment that left them destitute well into their retirement years with no way to earn new money. Some family members are still appealing and fighting adjacent court battles (property seizure, etc). This process has consumed the last decades of their lives and everything they worked their whole lives for. Not only would I say never end up in court, I'll extend you one further. Never get the government involved in your personal relationships.
- andai 1y ago
  Well, that seems a bit silly! >Never get the government involved in your personal relationships. Amen! You can't tax friendship.
thmsths 1y ago
Which is why, ideally your access to the court system should NOT be dependent on your wealth.
- gruez 1y ago
  Access to it isn't. You can theoretically sue in federal court with a few hundred dollars in filing fees. It's not cheap, but not exorbitantly expensive either. It's representation that's expensive.

FirmwareBurner 1y ago

>A lawyer friend of mine once laid it out for me: "in litigation, if you go to court, even if you win, you lose" In my country we have a phrase for this exact scenario: "the punishment is the process". When the government or a powerful person wants to fuck with you, all they have to do is drag you endlessly through the court system, even knowing they'll loose. Because the experience will be 100x more painful for you to win than it is for them to loose. It's what the UK government did to the postal workers in the Fujitsu scandal.

koakuma-chan 1y ago
Is there a limit how many concurrent lawsuits can be thrown at one person?
- tristor 1y ago
  No, not technically, however in the US there are the SLAPP statutes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_publ...

busterarm 1y ago

Don't underestimate this. My family members sued each other over a small inheritance. 5 kids fighting over a couple million dollars. Case has dragged out across almost 4 decades. Lawyer fees dwarfed the size of what was being fought over several times over. Some family spent time in jail for contempt of court... Family members then put up all their personal assets to keep fighting. Then they lost and were faced with a judgment that left them destitute well into their retirement years with no way to earn new money. Some family members are still appealing and fighting adjacent court battles (property seizure, etc). This process has consumed the last decades of their lives and everything they worked their whole lives for. Not only would I say never end up in court, I'll extend you one further. Never get the government involved in your personal relationships.

andai 1y ago
Well, that seems a bit silly! >Never get the government involved in your personal relationships. Amen! You can't tax friendship.

thmsths 1y ago

Which is why, ideally your access to the court system should NOT be dependent on your wealth.

gruez 1y ago
Access to it isn't. You can theoretically sue in federal court with a few hundred dollars in filing fees. It's not cheap, but not exorbitantly expensive either. It's representation that's expensive.