This case is a good example of where the polluters and their insurers preferrred to litigate rather than owe up to their responsibility to take care of the mess. This was one of the very worst sites and it took years of litigation to finally force the polluters and their isurers to face the music.
While the legal profession is not always a poster child for responsible behavior, the fact remains big corporations and the big insurers are the ones who opt more often than not to litigate when they should step up and address the problem.
Liability insurance policies all say they will respond only if the insured is held ‘legally liable’. This requirement effectively forces that everything first be litigated. What a waste of time in most cases.
Tort reform is being pushed mainly because the business community wants monetary caps on pain and suffering and wants severe limitations on class action lawsuits. That way when they screw up they will have financial immunity.
If the $250,000 cap for pain and suffering had been in place at the time of Ford Pinot faulty gas tank claims,they might still be building the Pinto with defective gas tanks. Why: because it would be more profitable to keep building a defective product than a safe product.
Attorney are easy scapegoats to blame for all the litigation and the associated costs but the fact remains its their clients who initiate the litigation and then hire an atttorney. The very groups who are pushing so hard for tort reform and want to blame the legal profession are the ones flooding the courts with their litigation.
Yes, I still like the joke: what do you call 25 attorneys at the bottom of the lake: a good start.
This case is a good example of where the polluters and their insurers preferrred to litigate rather than owe up to their responsibility to take care of the mess. This was one of the very worst sites and it took years of litigation to finally force the polluters and their isurers to face the music.
While the legal profession is not always a poster child for responsible behavior, the fact remains big corporations and the big insurers are the ones who opt more often than not to litigate when they should step up and address the problem.
Liability insurance policies all say they will respond only if the insured is held ‘legally liable’. This requirement effectively forces that everything first be litigated. What a waste of time in most cases.
Tort reform is being pushed mainly because the business community wants monetary caps on pain and suffering and wants severe limitations on class action lawsuits. That way when they screw up they will have financial immunity.
If the $250,000 cap for pain and suffering had been in place at the time of Ford Pinot faulty gas tank claims,they might still be building the Pinto with defective gas tanks. Why: because it would be more profitable to keep building a defective product than a safe product.
Attorney are easy scapegoats to blame for all the litigation and the associated costs but the fact remains its their clients who initiate the litigation and then hire an atttorney. The very groups who are pushing so hard for tort reform and want to blame the legal profession are the ones flooding the courts with their litigation.
Yes, I still like the joke: what do you call 25 attorneys at the bottom of the lake: a good start.