QUOTE(stevethedad @ Nov 20 2008, 11:43 AM)
It's a terrible thing. The system needs to be in place to protect innocent people from scammers, but scammers use the system to against innocent people.
I once had a crappy employee, who after 2 months on the job, started pissing off customers and fellow employees. I counseled him. He then told me he was diabetic and needed work out every day, and wanted to take a 2 hour lunch to do so.
I am a bit of an excercise fanatic, with a few diabetics in my family. I told him to do what I do; work out in the morning or after work. He called in sick the next day, and stayed out over a week, though he would call daily to tell employees that he wasn't really sick, knowing that they'd tell me. I fired his lazy fat arse.
He filed a lawsuit against me claiming that I discriminate against people with disabilities. I vowed to fight it, but eventually settled. I think it was about $20K (he was suing for $300,000).
I found out that he had filed suits against:
An employer, for discrimination based on the fact that he was male and the managers were female and they made comments about men at the office.
An employer, for discrimination based on sexual orientation because someone asked him if he was gay (he was obviously so), and he was humiliation and offended by the question, and it created a hostile work environment.
He threatened to file a suit against the employment agency who placed him with me because they refused to work with him again.
He sued his neighbor over the the installation of a hot tub.
He threatened to sue 24 Hour Fitness because they had a '12 Days of Christmas' promotion where you could use the gym for free for 12 day. He wanted to use the days whenver he wanted to, rather than during the 12 days of Christmas. I knew the manager over there, and this clown told him, 'It doesn't say 12 days in a row, so I should be able to use them one at a time, indefinitely.'
The nerve of this guy suing for false advertising on something he was getting for free! The manager told me he wanted to take the guy out back and beat the crap out of him.
They changed the wording the following year to include 'must be used for 12 consecutive days.'
This is a horrible predicament for a business owner.
I can't help seeing the humor in one of the lawsuits: "someone asked him if he was gay (he was obviously so), and he was humiliated and offended by the question". Why?? Is that something he thought was humiliating and offensive? If so, is he the one who's the bigot? And if he is gay, how can he support gay marriage if he can't support being recognized as gay in public? Too weird for words.
Once the initiators of frivolous/predatory lawsuits are punished, we will see an end to this type of stuff. Either make them pay the court costs of the defendants, like they do in Germany for example, or else actually fine them and their lawyers. That should work.
