Frivilous lawsuits. We hear about them in the news regularly. Lawyers bringing multi-million dollar claims against individuals, insurance companies, cigarette manufacturers, big corporations, you name it. Although not entirely clear, generally speaking, a frivolous lawsuit is any lawsuit where there is no realistic chance that the Plaintiff (the party suing) can win that case. Amazingly enough, it isn’t always easy for even the most-experienced litigation attorney to distinguish between the frivolous lawsuit and the legitimate lawsuit that has a slim chance of succeeding but is still worth pursuing.
As you may have heard, the NFL was sued recently by a lawyer who happens to be a season ticket holder with the New York Jets. This lawyer was suing on the grounds that the football games involving the New England Patriots (who were accused of spying and secretly filming other teams’ signals) were somehow rigged to “substantially” increase the likelihood that the Patriots would win versus the Jets in particular. The court disagreed however.
My general opinion on this case would be that the lawyer may have brought this lawsuit in large measure to gain professional notoriety. The fact that his name is being discussed even in my blog here brings a certain amount of “prestige” or free/low-cost advertising/marketing. From reading blog posts following the court’s decision, I know a lot of people are upset with this lawyer for wasting the court’s time. I would be inclined to agree with this sentiment. However, I also believe this lawyer will add to his client base. A certain segment of society will appreciate him for any of a number of reasons: perhaps taking a stand against the NFL (as a giant corporation); or the fact that this lawyer is a Jets fan; or considering that the lawyer apparently is willing to pursue his own convictions.
Personally, I think filing a lawsuit like this with the overlying objective to somehow garner professional notoriety is underhanded and wasteful if that was the core motivation. Lawsuits that boarder on the absurd or unrealistic in terms of winning do place a considerable strain on our court system and they divert limited resources including judicial time and expense away from much more important matters. I would be interested in knowing what type of alternative dispute resolution like mediation or arbitration was used here, if any. Otherwise, it just feels like a convenient P.R. opportunity for the lawyer involved.
It is important to remember that as in any profession, there are many types of personalities out there. A lot of lawyers that I know highly respect the profession and the importance of using the legal system as a helpful tool to generate needed change rather than as an opportunity to self-promote or create a name for themselves. When searching for your attorney, it is important to do your homework and never hesitate to shop around until you find the one that meets your values and beliefs.
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