Blitz USA is based in Miami, Okla., and is the largest manufacturer of portable gas cans in the country.
…
But Blitz has filed for bankruptcy and will shut its doors at the end of the month. Why? Because it can no longer afford product liability insurance, Marketplace’s Sally Herships reports.And why should they need it?
Well…
Consumers have accused the company of making faulty cans that explode when used to pour gasoline onto fires.But wait! Surely that’s not the fault of the company?
Blitz says its cans carry warnings that say you should never use gasoline to start or accelerate a fire.And yet, even being in the right doesn't save them. This is, after all, America, the land where no matter how dumb your cause, it's not too dumb for a lawyer to take it on:
Even winning is expensive. Blitz beat one lawsuit in Texas, Marketplace reports, but the fight still cost the company about $2.5 million.H/T: Protein Wisdom (via comments)
A sad reflection on the consequences of such a litigious society.
ReplyDeleteAs compensation, there's a whole world of entertainment generated by plaintiffs of Frivolous Lawsuits. This one's hard to beat -
"Jail gives inmates a lot of time to think, and a Chesapeake, Va., prisoner used the hours to come up with an exceptionally innovative lawsuit. In 1995, Robert Lee Brock sued himself for $5 million, claiming that he violated his own civil rights when he was arrested two years earlier for breaking and entering and grand larceny.
"I partook of alcoholic beverages in 1993, July 1st, as a result I caused myself to violate my religious beliefs. This was done by my going out and getting arrested," wrote Brock in the lawsuit he filed in federal court. But because he had no income in jail, Brock asked that the state pay him the multi-million dollar settlement. Judge Rebecca Beach Smith dismissed his claim as "ludicrous" but acknowledged his "innovative approach to civil rights litigation."
http://money.howstuffworks.com/8-outrageous-lawsuits.htm#page=9
Excessive legalism will destroy an economy as surely as socialism; because effectively is a form of socialism. Spurious liablities awarded by courts are of the same character as spurious liabilities awarded by the State. THe more you do it, the more ruin you will end up with.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare?
ReplyDeleteThe quote eludes me.
Henry VI, pt 2 Rightwinggit
ReplyDelete"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it a particularly notable line is the eagerness of lawyers to defend it gratis, anon.
I was in a Dunelm Mill shop today and picked up a pair of scissors. On the packaging were the words "Only to be sold to over 25s, and Caution this item has sharp edges". FFS.
ReplyDeleteReminded me of the no nuts warning on a bag of nuts
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-22308165
"As compensation, there's a whole world of entertainment generated by plaintiffs of Frivolous Lawsuits."
ReplyDeleteBut we're laughing in the graveyard...
" On the packaging were the words "Only to be sold to over 25s, and Caution this item has sharp edges""
We're doomed as a species... :(
25 is the new 21, which was the new 18, which was the new 16, which was the new "old enough to be sensible".
ReplyDeleteMy fave is the one on the egg boxes, "Allergy advice, contains egg."
ReplyDeleteStonyground
Look at the history of UPT (uninsured parachute technologies) in the states... That shows you that a successful end can be found.
ReplyDelete