Greedy Trial Lawyer
Trial Lawyer's Perverse Argument Obtains Compensation For Dog Bite Victim
Category: Right On!
I rarely agree with the posts at Overlawyered, but David Nieporent today has gotten something almost exactly right.
In 2002, a couple of Rottweilers attacked and seriously injured Marguene St. Juste, a woman in Delray Beach, Florida. Last week, the jury awarded this woman $3.76 million for her injuries. Routine -- if expensive -- dog bite case, right? The patented Overlawyered twist? The jury decided that the owner of the Rottweilers, who had allegedly repeatedly allowed the dogs to run free, was only 40% responsible for this tragedy. The other 60% of the blame -- no, not the dogs, or the victim, or the doctors who treated her, or anybody obvious like that. Rather, the majority of the responsibility was assigned to the city of Delray Beach, Florida....More importantly, why should it make the city liable at all? It doesn't in other contexts; you can't sue the police for failing to arrest a dangerous criminal, for instance. (It's well-established that the police do not have a legal duty to protect you, absent special circumstances.) Once again, we see trial lawyers perversely arguing that an inconsistently-followed safety rule should make a defendant more liable than not having a safety rule at all. [And, perversely prevailing, I guess.] If Delray Beach had no animal control ordinance, it could not have been sued under these circumstances. But because it had one, taxpayers are on the hook for up to $2.2 million. Now, we don't expect trial lawyers to care about the incentives that their lawsuits create; after all, they're just in this game for the money. But shouldn't our legal system factor in these public policy considerations?
While I would take exception to David's use of the word "game" (if he is referring to the civil justice system) it is true that trial lawyers focus in individual cases on the monetary compensation of each victim of wrongdoing. We are not legislators nor judges, only advocates. The process of seeking justice for each victim probably moves the common law and, in some instances, legislative bodies in one direction or another. Public policy is not the reason most victims seek redress for a civil wrong. And, public policy is not the guiding light for most trial lawyers.
Thank you, David for recognizing our role in the civil justice system.
Now, about the City's liability. I am perversely willing to trust the judicial system to determine if the verdict against the City is legally correct.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.greedytriallawyer.com/admin/mt-tb.cgi/566