Insurance Law

The Day the Music Died: Trailer Lawyers disqualified from False Claims Act case

By David Rossmiller

It is with much sadness I report that the Trailer Lawyers -- Trailer Chip and Trailer Tony, Trailer Todd and Trailer Mary -- have been disqualified from Ex rel. Rigsby, the False Claims Act case often known by the incredibly ugly phrase "the Qui Tam," which of course is Latin for "Trailer Lawyer."

This is sad because the Trailer Lawyers have been a source of much enjoyable fodder for this and other blogs, and now, I fear, we will have to do without pleasant diversions such as making up Trailer Lawyer songs, like the following (sung to the tune of Don McLean's American Pie):

Bye bye Trailer Lawyer pie,

Drove my trailer to the courthouse but the judge said bye bye

Them Snake Farm boys was laughing while we cried

Singing this will be the day your case dies,

This will be the day your case dies. 

Now for five months, we've been on our own

Since Scruggs got knocked off his lawyer throne.

But that's not how it used to be.

When the Rigsbys sang for ABC,

With some quotes they borrowed from Dickie,

And some files that came from piracy.

And as we reached the motion stage, 

My hands were clenched in fists of rage,

No story we could tell,

Could break that Snake Farm spell.

And as our briefs climbed higher in the fight,  

We just couldn't seem to get it right, 

I saw bloggers laughing with delight,

The day the Qui Tam died.

And they were singing,

Bye bye Trailer Lawyer pie,

Drove my trailer to the courthouse but the judge said bye bye

Them Snake Farm boys was laughing while we cried

Singing this will be day your case dies,

This will be the day your case dies. 

My oh my, is this end of the Trailer Lawyers? No more Trailer Lawyer songs!  Truly, the Day the Music Died.  

Almost forgot, here's Judge Senter's opinion. 

Full post as published by Insurance Coverage Law Blog on May 20, 2008 (boomark / email).