Our legal system invites lawyers to act like bullies. Only in America can I sue you for dubious reasons, force you to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers (not to mention the psychic costs -- the anxiety and lost sleep that lawsuits create), and when a judge rules that my claim is bunk, I don't even have to say "sorry." I can blithely move on to sue someone else. In other countries, I would have to pay your legal fees to at least compensate you for some of the financial damage I caused. "Loser pays," it's called.The trial lawyers have even gamed the language. They call "loser pays" the "English Rule," as if it's some weird British law. But it's not. It's really the Rest of the World Rule. America is the odd man out because we rarely punish litigators who misuse force.
Litigators fight for a living, day after day. Practice makes perfect. They get good at winning. Because of their clout, "loser pays" never gets though the legislature...
John Stossel writes another column proving he is a throwback to another era of journalism -- one in which common sense, accuracy and a concern for the public good were necessary virtues. Nice job, John.
