Jul 18, 2007 -- How to live happily in a litigious culture
If you've been paying attention to the news lately, you're probably familiar with the name Roy L. Pearson. He's the judge who sued a Washington, D.C., dry cleaner for $54 million when a pair of pants from his $1,000 suit went missing. Pearson lost his case in late June, but his outrageous request for $54 million created media frenzy fed by fear about lawsuit-happy people abusing our legal system. The whole episode really reminded Clark about a $2 million lawsuit McDonald's faced when a woman sued them for being burned by hot coffee. Once again, the plaintiff lost in that case, but people still live in fear of being sued at the drop of a hat. Many folks have asked Clark if he's ever been sued himself. The reality is that Clark once did have a legal tussle with a politician he referred to as a crook on air. The suit was thrown out in summary judgment, but Clark incurred $31,000 in legal defense fees. Meanwhile, that politician is now in prison for his wrongdoing. But that was only one suit that Clark faced in 20 years as a high-profile consumer advocate. So while you shouldn't do dumb things in your daily life to attract lawsuits, you also shouldn't worry excessively about being sued. The fear of lawsuits is often greater than the reality of them. And as Clark says, "Truth is the greatest defense."
