SaborW t1_is597d3 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 12:17 PM

Reply to comment by StrangePlaces405 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

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 on October 13, 2022 at 6:35 PM

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 on October 13, 2022 at 7:06 PM

Lawyers will take unwinnable cases because you pay them a retainer. No lawyer is taking an unwinnable case on contingency.

Killerbean83 t1_is7htg5 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 9:22 PM

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.