[Mamzelle]

re: No. The common end to frivoulous suits is that they get dismissed thru summary judgment. parsy.)))

Even at this early stage the defendant incurs expenses. And you did suggest that the loser paying was more common that a blue moon. Does the winner get reimbursement at summary judgement?

[parsifal]

"And you did suggest that the loser paying was more common that a blue moon. "

If I did,then I apologize.The way it works is like this: In general, when a lawyer signs the complaint, he assures the court that the suit is well based on fact and law. The defendant has the option of answering the complaint or immediately moving to have complaint dismissed, usually for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The sillier or more offbeat the claim, the more likely this route will be taken.

The defendant also has the option throughout of moving for sanctions against the other side for frivouous claims.. (Actually either side has this option) This is usually reserved for pretty serious breaches of legal competence. It could be used more often but most lawyers shy away from this unless really called for.

Anyway, back to the scenario. Assuming the defendant answers the complaint, discovery commences.Each side sends questions to each other along with requests for documents. Witnesses and parties may be deposed. After this, both sides have a pretty good idea of where their strengths and weaknesses are. Probably the defendant will move for summary judgment at this point. The defendant says,in essence, "Mr. Judge, there are no material issues of fact to be left to be determined and you,sir, can decide this case now on the basis of law. Please throw out all or part of the Plaintiff's claims." Or. "Mr.Judge, we have done discovery and the Plaintiffs are nuts. There is no legal basis for this claim. Please throw this mess out." This happens a lot and "surviving summary judgment" is an important threshold to a case.

Assuming the Plaintiffs have held in there, they still have to convince a majority of those on a jury that they are entitled to judgment. The nuttier the case, the less likely they can do that. Remember, the jury is composed of 12 ordinary everyday type people.

The wierd cases you hear about like McDonalds hot coffee, are presented to the public in a sensational way and most of the relevant facts are left out.

parsy.