Ridiculous lawsuits podcast Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That's English!, the Spanish Ministry of Education's official distance learning English course. To find out more about That's English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or contact your local Official School of Languages. Kate: Hi Drew! You're very quiet. What are you reading? Drew: Well, actually, I'm reading something so ludicrous, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Kate: Why's that? Drew: Well, I'll start from the beginning. Last night I was dining out with some friends and when the waiter brought the first courses, my friend Jackie found there was a fly in her soup. Kate: Hah! Hah! Hah! Drew: I don't understand what's so funny. Kate: Well, it's like the joke: "Waiter, waiter, there's a fly in my soup!" And the waiter says: "Don't shout! Everyone will want one." Drew: Very funny. Well, none of us were very impressed, I can tell you. Kate: Okay, okay. I was only kidding. Where's your sense of humour? Drew: Well, I'm not annoyed about what happened in the restaurant. In fact, the head waiter was really apologetic and they didn't charge us for the meal. Kate: So, thanks to the fly in the soup, you got a free dinner! Then I don't understand why you're in a bad mood. Drew: Well, the thing is that after the fly made its uninvited appearance in my friend's soup, we started talking about how, if this had happened in the States, we would have probably sued the restaurant... Kate: Ooh! Drew: Well, yes!... and that led on to a discussion about the ridiculous lawsuits that you often read about in the press, especially in the US. Nigel, that's Jackie's husband, recommended different articles on the Internet I should have a look at about the stupid things my fellow Americans have sued for over the years. And the more I read, the angrier it makes me feel. It's such a waste of time and money and, I think, it's a very poor reflection on American society. Kate: Really?... Is it as bad as that? Drew: Well, let's see what you think. One of the most ludicrous cases was back in 2006 when a guy called Allen Heckard decided to sue Michael Jordan and Nike. Kate: Well, why did he do that? Drew: Well, it turns out that Heckard is Jordan's look-a-like, some say he's like an identical twin, and it was precisely for that reason that Heckard tried to claim $832 million damages because he said he was tired of being mistaken for Jordan and that the public harassment was causing him continual emotional distress. Kate: And did he win the case? Drew: No. It seems that he decided to withdraw legal action once it was clear he didn't have a chance of winning and would end up having to pay the court costs if he went to trial. Kate: Well, surely that's a sign that the legal system works. Drew: But my point is that the case should never have been filed in the first place. Just listen to another one. Back in 2007, a dry-cleaning company in Washington D.C. was taken to court by one of its customers because of misplacing a pair of his pants. Kate: Maybe they were very expensive designer trousers. Drew: However expensive they were, there's no way they'd have been worth the $67 million that the customer tried to sue the dry-cleaner for, claiming that he hadn't received the "same day service" or the "satisfaction guaranteed" that the company advertised. Kate: $67 million! That's a bit steep. Did the customer win the case? Drew: No, he didn't. Fortunately, the court ruled in favour of the dry- cleaner. Kate: Well, there you go. It's another example of how the legal system seems to have worked correctly. Drew: On that, I must agree to differ. You see, by the time it won the case, the dry-cleaning company had already had to close down two of its stores to finance its defence in the case and, what is worse, at least for me, is that the customer was a judge. Kate: You must be joking! Drew: No, I'm not. The guy was called Judge Pearson and the only good thing is that his conduct was reproved by a review board and he ended up losing his job. Kate: I should think so. Drew: Do you understand now why I find all this so irritating? Kate: Well, as in so many other things, I think it's of a matter of striking the balance between using and abusing the system. Drew: Maybe you're right. There's one case which is the epitome of this abuse of the legal system. A guy called Robert Lee Brock, who was doing time in a jail in Virginia actually had the gall to try and sue himself. Kate: I beg your pardon!! - how can you sue yourself? Drew: Well, according to this article about 9 of the Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of All Time, he said he had "breached his own religious and civil rights by getting himself drunk enough to break the law." Kate: But I still don't understand what the benefits would be of suing yourself. If you win or lose, in either case, you'll have to pay. Drew: Not if you claim, as this guy did, that the state should pay the settlement for him as he was in jail and couldn't work. Kate: Don't tell me he got away with it. Drew: No, he didn't, but according to this article, the judge praised his "innovative approach to civil rights litigation." Kate: You were right, you don't know whether to laugh or cry. When did this all start? I mean, have there been cases like this for many years. Drew: It seems that one of the first and most famous lawsuits of this kind, and the one that seems to have acted like a trigger for many of those to follow, happened back in 1992. An elderly lady, called Stella Liebeck, spilled a cup of coffee on her lap and scalded herself one day at a McDonald's drive-through. She decided to sue McDonald's for her medical expenses and the jury ended up awarding her $2.9m in damages. Kate: Oh yes, I remember that one. It's really well-known. In fact, I know there's a documentary called Hot Coffee that talks about that case. Drew: Really? Kate: Yes. I haven't seen it myself but I remember reading about it. Apparently, it questions whether this kind of lawsuit is as ridiculous as we might be led to believe. It would seem that the lobbies of the big corporations in the States have managed to convince people that the civil justice system needs to be reformed to prevent people from taking so-called "frivolous lawsuits" to court when what they really want is to protect their own economic interests to the detriment of civil liberties. Drew: Oh that's interesting. I must watch it. It sounds like it might give me a very different perspective on the whole issue. Kate: Yes, I'd like to see it too. In any case, Drew, you know there are always two sides to every story. Drew: Yeah, you're right. Nothing is black or white. Everything has different shades of grey. Kate: Having said that, you must tell me which restaurant you went to last night. Drew: Why? Do want to try it out after what happened to us? Kate: No. It's so that I know not to go there. You know what they say, If you give a dog a bad name... Drew: Hang it! Kate: Exactly. Drew: If you have found this podcast interesting and would like to read the article 9 of the Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of All Time, you will find the link at the end of the transcript. See you later! http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/lifestyle/9-of-the-most-ridiculous-lawsuits-of-all-time/ We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!