Bork vs. Bork

Queens Jet Fan · 06-14-2007, 11:56 AM

Editorial
Bork v. Bork
[URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/opinion/14thu4.html[/URL]
Published: June 14, 2007

There are many versions of the cliché that “a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged,” and Robert Bork has just given rise to another. A tort plaintiff, it turns out, is a critic of tort lawsuits who has slipped and fallen at the Yale Club.

Mr. Bork, of course, is the former federal appeals court judge who was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1987 but not confirmed by the Senate. He has long been famous for his lack of sympathy for people who go to court with claims of race or sex discrimination, or other injustices. He has gotten particularly exercised about accident victims driving up the cost of business by filing lawsuits. In an op-ed article, he once complained that “juries dispense lottery-like windfalls,” and compared the civil justice system to “Barbary pirates.”

That was before Mr. Bork spoke at the Yale Club last year, and fell on his way to the dais, injuring his leg and bumping his head. Mr. Bork is not merely suing the club for failing to provide a set of stairs and a handrail between the floor and the dais. He has filed a suit that is so aggressive about the law that, if he had not filed it himself, we suspect he might regard it as, well, piratical.

Mr. Bork puts the actual damages for his apparently non-life-threatening injuries (after his fall, he was reportedly able to go on and deliver his speech) at “in excess of $1,000,000.” He is also claiming punitive damages. And he is demanding that the Yale Club pay his attorney’s fees.

We can imagine what Mr. Bork the legal scholar would ask if he had a chance to question Mr. Bork the plaintiff. If it was “reasonably foreseeable” that without stairs and a handrail, “a guest such as Mr. Bork” would be injured, why did Mr. Bork try to climb up to the dais? Where does personal responsibility enter in? And wouldn’t $1 million-plus punitive damages amount to a “lottery-like windfall”?

Since we believe in the tort system, when properly used, all we would ask is whether Mr. Bork’s unfortunate experience at the Yale Club has led him to re-evaluate any of the harsh things he has said in the past about injured people, much like himself, who simply wanted their day in court.

Warfish · 06-14-2007, 12:18 PM

Dissapointing.

But that is our legal system these days in a nutshell.....dissapointing.

nuu faaola · 06-14-2007, 12:26 PM

That claim is so aggressive and absurd that I almost suspect its some sort of trojan horse for lawsuit critics (like Bork) to use as an example of how broken our system is.

I saw a story on the news last night about some judge --a judge!!!-- taking advanatge of a legal loophole to sue a drycleaner for $54 million for losing his pants.

What's really sad is that some will try to use junk lawsuits like this will be used as an excuse to limit legitimate lawsuits. Some kid who gets cancer from a polluting factory near his house may find it harder to get money for his treatment and suffering because a j*ckass like Bork thinks he's entitled to a million bucks for taking a minor fall.

It makes me sick.

06-14-2007, 11:56 AM	#1
Queens Jet Fan All Pro Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Roslyn Posts: 6,789	Bork vs. Bork Editorial Bork v. Bork [URL]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/opinion/14thu4.html[/URL] Published: June 14, 2007 There are many versions of the cliché that “a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged,” and Robert Bork has just given rise to another. A tort plaintiff, it turns out, is a critic of tort lawsuits who has slipped and fallen at the Yale Club. Mr. Bork, of course, is the former federal appeals court judge who was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1987 but not confirmed by the Senate. He has long been famous for his lack of sympathy for people who go to court with claims of race or sex discrimination, or other injustices. He has gotten particularly exercised about accident victims driving up the cost of business by filing lawsuits. In an op-ed article, he once complained that “juries dispense lottery-like windfalls,” and compared the civil justice system to “Barbary pirates.” That was before Mr. Bork spoke at the Yale Club last year, and fell on his way to the dais, injuring his leg and bumping his head. Mr. Bork is not merely suing the club for failing to provide a set of stairs and a handrail between the floor and the dais. He has filed a suit that is so aggressive about the law that, if he had not filed it himself, we suspect he might regard it as, well, piratical. Mr. Bork puts the actual damages for his apparently non-life-threatening injuries (after his fall, he was reportedly able to go on and deliver his speech) at “in excess of $1,000,000.” He is also claiming punitive damages. And he is demanding that the Yale Club pay his attorney’s fees. We can imagine what Mr. Bork the legal scholar would ask if he had a chance to question Mr. Bork the plaintiff. If it was “reasonably foreseeable” that without stairs and a handrail, “a guest such as Mr. Bork” would be injured, why did Mr. Bork try to climb up to the dais? Where does personal responsibility enter in? And wouldn’t $1 million-plus punitive damages amount to a “lottery-like windfall”? Since we believe in the tort system, when properly used, all we would ask is whether Mr. Bork’s unfortunate experience at the Yale Club has led him to re-evaluate any of the harsh things he has said in the past about injured people, much like himself, who simply wanted their day in court.

06-14-2007, 12:18 PM	#2
Warfish JetsInsider.com Legend Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 35,000	Dissapointing. But that is our legal system these days in a nutshell.....dissapointing.

06-14-2007, 12:26 PM	#3
nuu faaola All Pro Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 6,253	That claim is so aggressive and absurd that I almost suspect its some sort of trojan horse for lawsuit critics (like Bork) to use as an example of how broken our system is. I saw a story on the news last night about some judge --a judge!!!-- taking advanatge of a legal loophole to sue a drycleaner for $54 million for losing his pants. What's really sad is that some will try to use junk lawsuits like this will be used as an excuse to limit legitimate lawsuits. Some kid who gets cancer from a polluting factory near his house may find it harder to get money for his treatment and suffering because a j*ckass like Bork thinks he's entitled to a million bucks for taking a minor fall. It makes me sick.