"But This Is Different"

The bloggers of Pajamaline (f'rinstance; f'rinstance) seem to be giddy over the fact that a Gulf War vet and his wife have sued Michael Moore over a clip from NBC News that was used in Fahrenheit 911:

Damon is asking for up to $75 million because of "loss of reputation, emotional distress, embarrassment, and personal humiliation."

In addition, his wife is suing for another $10 million because of the "mental distress and anguish suffered by her spouse."

Back in the days before he was going to sue anyone, Damon's objections were detailed in the Army Times.

In [the clip], Damon is seen sitting on a gurney just before going into surgery. The remains of his arms are swathed in heavy bandages, and he is describing phantom-limb sensation and the phantom crushing pain that doctors have relieved with a steady flow of anesthesia into each limb.

The original Oct. 31 interview with NBC Nightly News was about the anesthesia and the work being done at the hospital with other amputee soldiers. Damon and his anesthesiologists considered it a positive piece that showcased the hard work being done for wounded soldiers.

But, Damon notes, the 10-second clip in "Fahrenheit 9/11" is sandwiched into a segment of the movie that describes the supposed plight of hapless soldiers sent to Iraq, many of whom, Moore asserts, have joined the Army to escape poverty.

"For this guy to put me in a movie and say, 'Look at all these poor fellows,' it makes us look like we all came from the same background as the people in Flint, Michigan," Damon said.

Damon has appeared in two films denouncing Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11, but I guess people still think he's from Flint.

There seems to be no end of right-wing applause for the lawsuit, but I have yet to find even a single critical peep from the "tort reformers"... presumably because it's Michael Moore, which means "it's different". And as it's not a lawsuit against their corporate masters, so why would they care if he faces a lawsuit of dubious validity with an absurd demand for damages. But then, we haven't yet heard from Volokh's Dave Kopel. After all, he would be the first to tell us that just because you don't like the defendant, it doesn't mean that the plaintiff should be awarded millions of dollars. Right?

Update: Another Pajamaliner chimes in: "I have no idea if the case has any merit, but I do like the idea of Michael Moore being sued." How, um, conservative.

Subsequent Remedial Measures

I realize they're playing it up for the media, but would this type of claim make you want to hire this firm?

Apple Computer’s release Wednesday of a software update to limit the volume level of its iPod music player confirms the product is flawed, U.S. attorneys involved in a class-action suit against the company said.

Also, what's so special about an iPod that common sense shouldn't apply? Hearing loss from excessive volume was an issue with the "Walkman" back in the 1980's.

Most Frivolous Lawsuit of the Year

As the year draws to a close, it appears that the most frivolous lawsuit of the year award goes (unsurprisingly) to Fox News and Bill O'Reilly for their absurd lawsuit over Al Franken's use of "Fair and Balanced" in the title of his latest satirical work. Granted, Fox News almost topped itself - it threatened to sue The Simpsons and Matt Groening for presenting a parody of Fox News on an episode of The Simpsons. But, as Groening pointed out, he thought it was worth the risk because he didn't think that Rupert Murdoch would bankroll what would amount to Fox suing itself.

Where are the tort reform advocates when you need them? Isn't Fox News supposedly crawling with "conservatives" who detest frivolous lawsuits? Isn't Bill O'Reilly supposedly such a creature? Why is it that they instead focus their news efforts on capping and limiting meritorious suits, even as they waste the time and resources of our court system with the most frivolous of lawsuits imaginable?

Oh - and if you don't want to take my word for it that the lawsuit was frivolous, let's see what Bill O'Reilly had to say about it.... ""we never thought we were going to win the lawsuit." Oh, really? And did you volunteer to pay the defense costs associated with fighting the frivolous lawsuit you knew you weren't going to win, Bill? (I guess the word for the day is "hypocrite".)

I guess it is possible that a more frivolous lawsuit will be filed within the next few days and I'll have to amend this award, but.... more likely, six years from now this will be the most frivolous lawsuit of the decade.

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