ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050060
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
LAWYERS and their apologists have a point when they claim that much of the evidence cited by those who want to curb America's litigiousness is anecdotal.
Actual data of cases filed, settlements awarded, etc., make rarely as potent an argument as a juicy story about an outrageous lawsuit, sometimes exaggerated in the retelling.
And yet - Americans are right to perceive spreading litigiousness as a threat to a prosperous society and to the proposition that reasonable risk-taking is necessary and good.
And, darn it all, some of these horror stories do reflect something worsening in the national character, and shouldn't escape notice or ridicule.
Consider the story we ran earlier this week about Roanoke's infamous fortune teller, Miss Stella. Last January, she pleaded guilty to obtaining money by false pretenses. Last month, she was released from a federal prison - but now faces a new legal problem.
According to the story, a man is suing her for $3 million. That's the amount he didn't win in a lottery after using numbers the fortune teller provided with alleged assurances they were winners. A trial is scheduled this month.
Granted, an extreme case - laughable. But this guy isn't alone in regarding the court system as a kind of lottery.
LENGTH: Short : 34 linesby CNB