Well, as some of you might have been expecting....I NEED to chime in.

Perhaps the first thing I would like to address is "frivilous lawsuits". Does anyone stop and think that maybe, just maybe, to the person involved, the thing isn't quite so "frivilous"? Someone gave the example of someone suing over windchimes...well, have YOU ever tried to sleep, and found you couldn't, because of your neighbors noise? Did you realize that possibly, bringing a 'suit' under the town's noise ordinance was the ONLY way to stop the noise, and give you, the property owner, a good night's sleep? At 2 am, without sleep in sight, over a two week course, maybe YOU, too, would be ready to do something. The houses where I live are maybe 12 -15 feet apart. The neighbor's boy plays with his band, accoustics and all, for up to 4 hours at a time. Wanna know how that feels, after working 10-12 hours a day, trying to eat dinner, in your own house, and hardly being able to hear yourself think? It ain't pretty. I have called the police, I have complained directly (I like these people)...and prolly my last resort is to persue a civil action...I am not doing it...not because I think it is "frivilous", but, because I don't want to make things unliveable with my next door neighbor. So, until you have walked in their shoes (and know the entire set of facts behind it) maybe, just maybe, it isn't quite so "frivilous". And, no, it wasn't me that sued over the windchimes.

As to the comment about McDonalds suit. Did you know that McDonalds had received HUNDREDS of complaints about thier coffee being too hot? It causes 2 degree burns, people. That is HOT. Did you know that McDonalds made a conscious business decision to keep the temp of their coffee at that level because they would rather deal with 'some' complaints about the tempature than 'many' complaints about cold coffee? Did you know that the verdict (which was reduced by the Judge) had a symbolic relationship to the proceeds? Did you know that it represented ONE day of PROFITS for McDonalds? Look behind the front headlines....look behind the 'scandal'....

How would you have felt if you and your infant child were sitting down to eat breakfast at McDonalds...while your toddler played on the equipment. Your toddler ACCIDENTLY knocks your coffee over, it spills on your infant...and your infant now has 2 and 3 degree burns...BUT, that is OK with McDonalds...cause hot coffee, and hot food, is what makes McDonalds money? A business decision. Not a people decision. A business decision.

That is the McDonalds lawsuit.

The rest of my rant is coming next....