Andrew Yang Policy On TORT REFORM/REASONABLENESS DISMISSALS

[Sherman A1]

Our civil litigation system influences our behavior in ways big and small because people are afraid they might be sued. Sometimes, the mere idea of fighting a lawsuit is enough to terrify anyone from taking an action that might be socially desirable (e.g. helping out a stranger in need), and we shouldn’t have a legal system that discourages them.

Justice always requires judgment, but we too often strip that from our judges. Nowhere is this more apparent than the ability of spurious lawsuits to make it to trial.

Judges should be able to dismiss any lawsuit during its initial stages purely for being unreasonable. There can be an appeal process, but that process should be one that’s fought between the plaintiff and an appeals court, not between a plaintiff and the person being unreasonably sued.

"We should give judges the power to keep frivolous nuisance lawsuits out of their courtroom to free up the resources for real conflicts and injustices. Most of us are frightened of the threat of a lawsuit and it shapes behavior in ways big and small. And there are some businesses and individuals that sue frivolously as a competitive bullying strategy."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/tort-reform-reasonableness-dismissals/

[kcr]

1. This is old-school, right wing baloney

[Sherman A1]

2. I appreciate you taking time to read the thread

however, I do disagree with you. It would be easy to dismiss this as just that however, I saw first hand the use of lawsuits or the threat of them in the game industry that put the big fish in a position to bully some of the smaller companies and get their way on this or that issue. His policy suggestion is not completely without merit.

[kcr]

3. You think the solution is to give judges more power?

As a gamer (I assume you're talking about video games), I understand that giving judges more power wouldn't make that any better for us. I don't run across a whole lot of them in my hobby. Give them more power and they will simply dismiss more cases that you and I, the little people, bring up against the big companies when they screw us over. It is big corps that support legislation like this. They're the ones that will get judges to dismiss all the cases they don't like in a system that Yang proposes.

[Sherman A1]

4. Actually I was speaking of the Boardgame

And RPG industry including collectible card games. I was very much aware of one company years ago using the threat of and the reality of lawsuits to push their “perspective”’upon smaller firms with the intent of breaking them with legal fees even if the big company lost the case. So I do believe this proposal has merit.

[kcr]

5. Ah, well both industries have the same issues

I think it's pretty common no matter the industry. I'm not saying it isn't a problem. It's clear that corporations do use the justice system as muscle against weaker opponents. But giving judges the authority to summarily dismiss a case before it even gets a chance would take away the little leverage individuals have against corporations and place the balance even more squarely on their side. They are the ones who can hire teams of the best lawyers. That's why I'm not sure how you think this would make this problem go away. These companies could still hire those teams. THEY will be the ones who can argue to dismiss the cases they don't want. NOT us. They can still file lawsuits the same way we can. Who will be more likely to convince judges that the other guy is being frivolous? The little guys, or the ones who can hire teams of high paid lawyers?

[Sherman A1]

6. I disagree

If the case has merit it should proceed. There is an appeals process built into this proposal so it will not be perfect (name a method that would be) but it is hardly the RW BS that you described in your first response.

[kcr]

7. Hardly?

Ever heard of ALEC? https://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/07/10886/alec-and-tort-reform?page=1

More info on tort reform: https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/what-is-tort-reform-35441

Thus, while a popular political topic, tort reform laws do not serve the general public. In fact, the entities that most benefit from tort reforms are businesses that have injured innocent victims. For more information about tort reform laws, speak with an attorney that practices in this field on a regular basis. You can find an attorney on HG.org that will be happy to explain tort laws and why tort reforms are bad for the general public.

https://www.thenation.com/article/right-wings-drive-tort-reform/

It's not a leftward shift in the courts causing hope for tort reformers:
https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20190306/new-supreme-court-emboldening-florida-lawmakers-to-push-tort-reform---again

[Sherman A1]

8. Yes, I have heard of ALEC

And I continue to disagree with you position.