So Stormy Daniels is suing Michael Cohen and Donald
Trump.
A bunch of states’ Attorneys General are suing to stop the
end of DACA. Many of the same are also suing to stop Trump’s Executive Orders
on restricting immigration from certain countries. Several states are being
sued over voter ID laws. Florida is being sued by convicted felons who want to
vote.
And lest we forget, the DNC is suing Russia, WikiLeaks, and
the Trump Campaign for damages from alleged collusion during the last election.
That’s big stuff, right? Well, the media want you to think
it is. It’s not.
Years ago, I got my most valuable lesson about lawsuits.
It’s worth sharing.
I was being sued by a former partner. My then partner and I
had bought out his shares. He had agreed to the generous buyout terms and the
payment and got his check right away.
A year later, I got notice that he was suing me. Over what?
His new lawyers claimed we had not given him fair value. Mind you, he
had long ago signed the agreement and cashed the check.
I met with our lawyer – a chain-smoking nasty piece of work
who normally did personal-injury work – at his grungy office in Philly. I asked
him how we could be sued.
He pointed to a homeless guy picking through trash on the
street below. He asked if I knew that
guy. I said no. He said, well, he can sue you. I asked for
what reason. My lawyer said it doesn’t matter – if he has twenty bucks he can
sue me.
True story. The
lesson?
Anybody can sue anybody. Whether it’s justified doesn’t
matter. Ultimately winning or losing is an entirely separate issue from the act
of filing suit.
Sometimes people file suits for perfectly valid
reasons.
Yet sometimes it’s simply to embarrass someone or some
organization in the hope of getting a big fat settlement before it ever goes to
court. Or if it does go to court that some jackpot jury will award them a lot
of money anyway.
And sometimes it’s just for publicity.
When that's the only reason, the money’s not the real
issue, at least not right away. Getting and staying in the spotlight is, and
inflicting pain on their adversary is most important.
Think Stormy Daniels. Think a few of the #metoo folks. Think
Gloria Allred. If you’re an aging
pornstar, a wannabe celebrity, or a politician or attorney looking to raise his
or her profile, it’s tempting to file a highly public lawsuit to call attention
to yourself. We see it all the
time.
Quite often these days – perhaps too often – suits are also filed
to thwart or delay implementation of perfectly legitimate regulatory actions,
Federal laws properly passed by Congress, and Executive Orders fully within the
Constitutional authority of the President.
Or to minimize the impact of a Presidential election.
It’s often purely a delaying tactic, especially when the
plaintiffs know the law and the Constitution aren’t on their side. They hope to
tie things up in court so long that public opinion or a change in who holds the
levers of power delivers an outcome they prefer.
Filing a suit is merely the first step. Through backed up
courts, appeals, and refiling in different courts if need be, the plaintiffs
and their attorneys can drag things out for years if that's their goal. Once again, if you’re an
aging pornstar in the 14th minute of your 15 minutes of fame, or Democrats
trying to fan their base before an election, delay is what you want to
keep you in the spotlight; you really don't want swift justice.
Remember, anybody can file a lawsuit. For whatever reason,
frivolous, malicious, or whatever. Or simply to delay the inevitable.
That’s pretty much what we’re seeing now. Highly public lawsuits without a
lot of substance or basis. Lawsuits for publicity. Politically motivated lawsuits just to drag things out.
But more and more lawsuits every day.
BTW, Stormy Daniels just filed another lawsuit against Trump
for defamation. She’s claiming he
defamed her by his Tweet ridiculing her sketch of the man who allegedly
threatened her about a decade ago to keep quiet about her alleged affair with
Trump.
You know, the sketch that was so widely ridiculed on the
Internet as looking like Tom Brady, Willem Dafoe, Denis Leary, and others?
And she’s claiming she’s been defamed by Trump? Truth is,
the sketch made her the laughingstock of social media for days. Yet Trump’s the
one she’s after.
As I said, anybody can file a lawsuit. Doesn't mean they'll win, or that the lawsuit has any merit. Sure, some crackpot activist judge may rule in their favor in the short term. In time some higher court usually overturns silly decisions.
Time wounds all heels, as I like to say.
It's a mistake to take most of these lawsuits seriously. Especially when it's crystal clear why they've been filed, and what the actual motives of the "plaintiffs" are.
The media take them at face value too often. Most Americans shouldn't.
Russia and WikiLeaks won't take the DNC's lawsuit seriously, either.
I don't blame them. I wouldn't.
No comments:
Post a Comment