Local Man Applauds Congressional Action

The New York Times reports today that the Congress is about to enact remedial class-action legislation which President Bush will sign.
Class Action lawyers were caught with their briefs down. According to the Times, one lawyer at a prominent class-action firm said that many lawyers had expected the legislation to take longer to adopt as Senate and House members wrangled over terms. Ha Ha Ha
The NYT also reported, "The legislation also makes it more difficult for class-action lawsuits to be settled by payments of coupons for goods and
services instead of cash by the defendants, a practice that has been heavily criticized by Democrats and Republicans." Right On!
Brother of Local Man was a successful class action plaintiff against a clothing retailer. He was awarded a coupon so that he could buy more stuff from the retailer at a reduced price. This was a win-win situation for the retailer who got a second whack at its dissatisfied customers and Brother's attorneys who got paid with M-O-N-E-Y.
There should be a rule that if the class action plaintiffs get cents-off coupons their attorneys should get 1/3 of the coupons as their fee.

Local Man Suggests Punitive Damages Fix

Local Man has come up with a fix for the punitive damages awards that are causing fear and dismay in certain political circles.

Successful Plaintiff is awarded full compensation for the damages suffered because of the "bad things" done. That is good says Local Man.

Punitive damages punish Malefactors (America's huge corporate citizens or others who have lots of money) who do "very bad things". It is a fine that will make them think twice about doing more very bad things. Local Man says: "Stick it to them!"

Successful Plaintiff gets the big fat punitive damage award (at least the part remaining after Clever Lawyer gets his cut). "Hey! Wait a minute" says Local Man. "When the courts fine people for doing very bad things, that money belongs to all of us. Successful Plaintiff already got full compensation. S/he should have no better claim to the punitive damages jackpot than I do. Treat punitive damages like the fine it is. Give it to the government so it can be used to prevent others from doing bad things in the future, or avert the Social Security crisis or at least reduce our taxes."
"And by the way, since Clever Lawyer has already gotten paid for his work proving Malefactor did all those bad things, lets limit Clever lawyer's cut of punitive damages to say $100,000."

Local Man Discovers Well Being

Living in the Valley means no water bills and no sewer levies. An additional benefit is that when the wind is just right on a summer day, the septic system provides a distinctive country air usually associated with a cow pasture. There is however a drawback or two. A power failure means that in addition to having no lighting, cooling or heating. there is no water because the motor 200 feet below ground needs electricity to run the pump to lift the water from way down there to the faucets and toilets. So Local Man and Local Woman have learned to pay close attention to weather forecasts. If there is a possibility of wind, snow or sleet it is prudent to keep a least one bathtub full of emergency water. Cooking on a coleman stove and eating off paper plates can be fun, but no washing or flushing is not fun, especially for Local Woman.