Free Republic

<p>America's lawsuit culture is transforming our society, but there's been little focus on why litigation spun out of control over the last 30 years. People never used to sue for hot coffee spills, or for getting fat. There was a time, in the 1970s, when a million-dollar verdict for an accident was headline news. Now people sue for billions. What changed?</p>

PALMDALE -- In a judgment against a 17-year-old girl and her father's automobile dealership, a jury has awarded $7.3 million to a seriously injured Los Angeles Police Department patrolman for a traffic accident caused by the teen as she talked on a cellular telephone. A car driven by plaintiff Robert Jewett collided with defendant Kelly Johnson's sport-utility vehicle at 42nd Street West and Avenue N as Johnson made an illegal U-turn while talking on a cellular telephone, according to court testimony. The three-week trial in front of Judge John Doyle in the North District Palmdale Courthouse ended Monday with the...