StrangePlaces405 t1_is52z2v wrote
Reply to comment by -Coffee-Owl- in TIL at the end of the Top Gear US Special after arriving in New Orleans, the hosts gave their cars away instead of selling them as originally planned after seeing the damage from Hurricane Katrina by PrettyPinkPonyPrince
That's not an American thing it's a litigious asshole thing.
-Coffee-Owl- t1_is53iqq wrote
That's an American thing as hell. One of the first things comes to my mind when I think about, ehem, The United States Of America, is being sued for everything, on every step, from random people you meet.
soberkangaroo t1_is5pg69 wrote
Are you American? Cause this has literally never affected me or anyone I know and I’ve lived all across this country. It’s a myth perpetuated by businesses to make employees and customers seem frivolous
438867 t1_is5wwmj wrote
Ah yes, the covid defense. "I've never seen it so its not as bad as you make it"
soberkangaroo t1_is5xwci wrote
Ah yes, the COVID denier defense. I saw Fox News panicking about it so it just be true
johnnyfortycoats t1_is5u7zh wrote
America is a particularly litigious country. I have lived there, and in Sweden, in the UK and I am Irish. There is no doubt that the US tops those four countries in terms of its litigiousness and legal awareness
Xelacik t1_is5ws93 wrote
I grew up in Sweden and I remember being in primary school like 20 years ago and hearing all these crazy stories about Americans suing over crazy stuff. The most memorable ones were a lady who put her cat in the microwave cuz it was cold or something and it blew up, so she sued the microwave company. And another one where a drunk driver crashed into a tree on someones’s property and sued them for planting the tree there. Probably no truth to these stories but its interesting that the “americans will sue you for anything” steretype was prevalent even then, in a small (population-wise) country like Sweden.
Front_Beach_9904 t1_it2qpbg wrote
Pretty much everyone I know who has owned a small business has been threatened with/had suits filed against them.
StrangePlaces405 t1_is54a12 wrote
Definitely not an aspect unique to America. There are examples of litigious behavior across the globe.
sikels t1_is55vao wrote
It happening in other places doesn't change how America in particular is infamous for litigious idiocy.
Royal-Doggie t1_is5oo35 wrote
or healthcare, or guns, or unhealthy food, there is some good things in america but these come to my mind right away
guns and hamburger boi, yeeeeha
popsickle_in_one t1_is54hy9 wrote
It's an American thing because rando claims like that can just get thrown out before being heard in other countries.
Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.
In the US, they just have to make it so going to court is more expensive than just paying them off so you get people suing over all sorts of stupid shit.
SandysBurner t1_is5y2ub wrote
>Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.
If you have to pay both parties' legal fees if you lose, doesn't that make it basically impossible to sue somebody who can afford better lawyers than you?
Cystems t1_is70s4c wrote
It's a courts decision, so not necessarily guaranteed. There was a case here where a semi-famous entertainer got sued for defamation, and just before the case went to trial the person suing withdrew the case (cos it was bullshit in my opinion) and the court ordered him to pay all legal costs. I think the judge was pissed he wasted everyone's time.
But you're right, that can be a downside, but I think that'll be true of all systems. You lost your court case because they could afford better lawyers. Or not even better lawyers, they could just afford to drag out the case until you went bankrupt with legal fees.
popsickle_in_one t1_is7g4zg wrote
The opposite.
In the US, rich people can afford to hire expensive lawyers to just hold up proceedings until the poor people can no longer afford to continue (see Trump)
Elsewhere, if you have a case, the better lawyers will be on your side because they know they'll get paid. You also get to keep all of your awarded money rather than having to spend most of it on your own legal team.
But if you don't have a case (see above litigious asshole thing) then you deserve to have to pay for wasting everyone's time.
Win win
NPO_Tater t1_is8823z wrote
> rando claims like that can just get thrown out before being heard in other countries. > > Also, in sensible places, losing a case in court means you pay the legal fees of both sides, so there is no risk for someone who has done nothing wrong getting sued.
Damn, so exactly the same system the US has...
SaborW t1_is597d3 wrote
No it's definitely an American thing. People sue for any and everything here. Fucking guy running from the police trips in a yard and breaks his ankle can sue the owner of that property and win. Guy breaks into your home and you harm him in a fight, he or his family if he dies can sue you.
Sure lawsuits happen everywhere, but only here are they so often so absolutely absurd and in such numbers
StrangePlaces405 t1_is6rtgy wrote
While that is true what's not necessarily known is why lawyers and courts accept people filing frivolous lawsuits. Lawyers will tend to take on 'unwinnable" cases because they will negotiate high fees and awards if the miraculously win the case.
p-terydactyl t1_is6wmnb wrote
Lawyers will take unwinnable cases because you pay them a retainer. No lawyer is taking an unwinnable case on contingency.
Killerbean83 t1_is7htg5 wrote
This so much. Not sure what the legal boundaries are for a lawyer in the USA, but over here the lawyer has to "defend his clients interests". A lawyer has no obligation to to refuse a case because it is pure horseshit. If you are paying him because you want to go to trial, he will do so because you are paying him. At some point he should mention "well it is unlikely we will win" but after that, if you insist and you keep paying, the lawyer will keep going.
cackalackattack t1_is5ds81 wrote
“They’re the same picture”
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