It is rare that there is any other kind. But those who willfully ignore facts will find the truth harsher than most.
I have empathy for these folks. They lost their child at the hands of a madman. And then, in their grief, they were approached by dishonest people who wanted to use them to advance their own agenda. "Sue the ammo vendor," they said, "we will work your case for free, and only get paid when we win." A siren's call, if ever there was one. Any lawyer worth a tinker's damn could have foreseen the case was frivolous. But that was not the concern of the Brady foundation, or its lawyers. They knew the case would attract national attention. That was all they reasonably expected. And now that the parents have a $200,000+ judgment against them, the Brady foundation and it's lawyers ride off into the sunset, leaving this distraught family in the dust. And that's sad. But then the family hares off and cries about this to the press and blames... the ammo vendor, the judge, the law, everyone except the foundation that talked them into this idiocy. At this point, I doubt even the harsh truth will reach them. But, when the bill comes due, and the Brady foundation is nowhere to be found, maybe they will realize they were had. But I somehow doubt it.
My first thought would be to hit up my lawyers, for exercising the bad judgment to pursue a frivolous case and not warn me of the dangers. Whether it's a "loser pays" state or a case of imposing damages for pursuing a claim the lawyers should have known was frivolous, this is bad representation. And shame on the foundation, too, if it's scuttling out from under a "we'll represent you for free" contract by claiming that doesn't mean they should pay the other side's legal fees if so ordered. Nevertheless, shame on the family for going along. Just bad all around.
ReplyDeleteThere is actually a Colorado law (HB 000-208) stating that filing a frivolous civil lawsuit against a manufacturer of a legal firearms or ammunition company is punishable with the awarding of legal fees to the defendants. It's one of the things the parents (or their ghost writers) complain about on the HuffPo.
ReplyDeleteThe parents also claim they've been given no reason to suspect the Brady foundation won't help them raise the money to pay for it (because of course they're appealing), but that's hardly the same thing as saying "they've assured us they will pay for it". Because they haven't.
Yes, I went and read some other articles on this case, and found that the plaintiffs didn't just get in trouble with a general loser-pays law--this loser-pays provision was written right into the specific law that protects gun and ammo manufacturers in Colorado.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it remains to be seen whether the grieving family will ever be asked to shell out a penny. Right now they seem to be in the same publicity-generating mode they were in when they filed the stupid lawsuit.
If I'm ever gunned down by some eel-brain, I know my loved ones will have better ideas that this about how to honor my memory.
I trust that, if I am ever gunned down, my loved ones will avenge me. That's how I want them using their time.
ReplyDeleteGrim, that's a very Japanese medieval sentiment as well. From various sub cultures to martial art dynasties to yankee street gangs to yakuza mafia dynasties to feudal era family duties.
ReplyDeleteBut if Southerners were so prone to vengeance, why did Southerners not take revenge on the Democrat party for setting up the South through a civil war, Jim Crow, and various other conflicts?