Academic

Pity Poor Basketball Town: Litigation Reform Trailers Invade The Multiplex

By Dan Filler

The WSJ Law Blog tells us that there are new previews coming to the local Regal Cinema (at least the local cinema in D.C.) and they're  not going to be all laughs and explosions.  Instead, they'll be litigation reform promos produced by FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org.  This organization is all about helping us understand the real-life repercussions of what they consider frivolous lawsuits.  They've put together several movie trailers and you can watch them here.  Whether they're stupid tort suits blaming pool store owners for the misbehavior of Canada geese ("the goose was not our employee or agent", the owner explains) or stupid Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits attempting to insure that wheelchair users get access to the second floor of a commercial party and activity facility, the producers want you to understand that the scamming lawyers are hurting real people.  (The latter case, in which a facility called Basketball Town closed its doors in the context of an ADA suit, is open to multiple interpretations.  A more plaintiff-friendly view is here.)

This seems like a savvy political gambit.  But they'd better just make sure they're telling stories fairly, because with this sort of public face...they're pretty darn vulnerable to being burned.  I can already imagine the Saturday Night Live spoofs...

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).