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Lawsuit of the Day (apparently all the news is NOT fit to print)

America is the most litigious country in the world. But sometimes, a frivolous lawsuit is still very valuable because of the point it gets across. Here's a story from the NPR show On the Media:

BROOKE GLADSTONE: News organizations, editors and bloggers all are dealing with the financial difficulties newspapers face, but what about readers? What recourse have they if they're upset with a paper?s efforts to downsize? They could write a letter, cancel their subscription, or even ?sue? That?s the line of attack chosen by a newspaper reader in Durham, North Carolina.

Attorney Keith Hempstead recently filed a lawsuit against his local paper, The News and Observer, and its parent company, McClatchy Newspapers, after they laid off 70 employees and announced cuts to the news pages. He says he?s mad, and he?s not going to take it any more.

KEITH HEMPSTEAD: I'm suing because I'm upset with the state of the newspaper industry in general, and I feel like I can represent subscribers to the various McClatchy newspapers that are frankly upset with the state of the industry and how it?s being run.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: But what?s the charge?

KEITH HEMPSTEAD: The charge in this case is fraud.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: [LAUGHS]

KEITH HEMPSTEAD: I'm stating or alleging that when I renewed my newspaper subscription, I was relying upon a superior product, but with these cuts, that were announced after I renewed the newspaper, I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick.

Full post as published by Supreme Dicta on July 24, 2008 (boomark / email).