RESPONSIBILITY and LIABILITY
Contributed by T. J. Ray, Oxford Mississippi

Imagine a news story reporting that a fellow committed suicide by shooting himself witha Glockenspiel .45 automatic. The surprise in the story is that its purpose is to tell aboutthe liability of the pistol's maker. In its negligence the company produced a device with which an individual is able to harm himself. A jury of good and true citizens take almost an hour to convict Glockenspiel and award the family of the "victim" 17 gazillion dollars.

If that supposed story doesn't exist, think of a recent one in which a South Florida juryordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million to a former smoker. In their judgment, the company's negligence caused her emphysema. Now $300M is along way from 17gazillion, but the premises of these two cases are identical. In one, a man puts a pistol into his mouth and pulls the trigger once. In the other a woman puts a cigarette in her mouth and smokes it, over and over and over and over again for 25 years by her own admission. A mere $300M, of course, is small change compared to the $145 BILLION fine rendered in a tobacco class-action case in Florida in several years ago.

Very recently a jury in Oregon awarded a 19 million judgment against the Boy Scouts of America for negligence in not preventing a pedophile for molesting one of Scouts. Five more trials have been requested, which will likely result in millions more being paid by BSA. Granted the former leader should be punished, but to require such a fine--in fact, any fine--from the organization is arguably wrong. In recent years when child molestation cases have become prominently reported, I can't recall a single case in which a city has been given a punitive fine for the actions of one of its officer. Nor can I think of a single school district being fined for negligence after one of its teachers has been convicted of pedophilia. How then does such punishment of BSA make any sense?

And just last week came a ruling that opens the floodgates for settlements by the folks at Walmart--a class-action suit filed on behalf of six women. One thing is certain: the millions reaped from this suit will not go into the pockets of all the women who join the suit, but many lawyers will get rich. Until our courts and legal system are reformed, it will continue.

As with most sensational and deplorable situations, this one has many facets, not least of which are (first) the linkage of an organization to the criminal acts of an individual and (second) the astronomical size of the fines. Of course, if reason prevailed in the first place, the second would be null.

Sadly, our country faces two extremes, exorbitant penalties against organizations or corporations and slaps on the wrist for many, many elected officials. My poor memory can't recall the name of any Senator or Congressman who has actually gone to prison because of malfeasance and milking the public money cow.

Probably I must over-tenderize the dead horse I'm beating. Too many Americans feel and in fact KNOW they are entitled to such settlements. Greed and a quick buck will continue to drive our system. Until our courts and legal system are reformed, it will continue. And service and products will cost the rest of the public more and more.

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THANKS T. J. RAY, for your tenderizing a subject all too familiar in our litigious society. May we, somehow, find a way to pick more sensible judges who will do more than throw good money into greedy hands. THE WORDWRIGHT