S
omehow, somewhere along the way, the
McDonald’s coffee lawsuit became the poster
child for frivolous lawsuits. Who hasn’t taken
a crack at this lawsuit for the sake of furthering
their own cause? David Letterman and
numerous other comedians have exploited
this case as the punch-line to countless jokes.1
One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes involves Cosmo Kramer
suing Java World after Kramer spills a cup of café latté on
himself while trying to get a seat at a movie theater.2
Kramer
suffers from minor burns that are easily remedied after a
single application of a balm given to Kramer by the Maestro.
Kramer asks his favorite attorney, Jackie Chiles, if the fact
that he tried to sneak the coffee into the theater is going to
be a problem in their lawsuit. Jackie responds, “Yeah, that’s
going to be a problem. It’s gonna be a problem for them.
This is a clear violation of your rights as a consumer. It’s an
infringement on your constitutional rights. It’s outrageous,
egregious, preposterous.”3
When Kramer asks if this lawsuit
has a chance, Jackie responds, “Do we have a chance? You
get me one coffee drinker on that jury, you gonna walk outta
there a rich man.”4
Of course, Elaine is less than supportive
when she finds out about Kramer’s latest lawsuit and quips,
“What I mean is who ever heard of this anyway? Suing a
company because their coffee is too hot? Coffee is supposed
to be hot.”5
Obviously, Jerry and company are taking their
own shots at the McDonald’s lawsuit in particular, and at
frivolous lawsuits in general.
It seems that nearly everyone has an opinion about
frivolous lawsuits. This author recently removed a box
containing class handouts sitting on the floor in the middle of
an entryway into a Bible classroom and asked the person who
put the box there if he minded my moving the box because
someone could accidentally get hurt. The person responded
(knowing that I was an attorney) by simply snorting as he
walked away, “I think everyone who files a frivolous lawsuit
should be shot.” “Objection, non-responsive,” I thought, but
you get the point. All too often there does not appear to be
much we can do to change people’s opinions on this subject.
Or is there?