[CobaltBlue]

I am a litigator who wishes that it was possible to get rich - or maybe just pay the overhead - with frivolous lawsuits, but it ain't so.

Here's a synopsis of a real lawsuit that took place in the courthouse just across the street from my office.

A family out in Manassas had new windows and screens put into their townhome. Shortly thereafter, as mama left to go to work, daddy let the little 2 year old child stand on a piece of furniture and look out the window to wave bye-by to mama. The child put his hands on the screen, and the screen popped out, and the child tumbled two stories and became paralyzed for life.

The pins that held in the screens, unbeknownst to them, were too short to hold the screens in. The foreman of the assembly line testified at trial that he had warned the owners many times that the pins were too short to hold the screens in, but they wouldn't listen to him.

The judge tried to get the parties to settle but the defendant refused. The judge, a very seasoned trial judge, no bleeding heart but a very fearsome man, denied the defendant's motions to dismiss and to strike the evidence and for partial summary judgment. The jury awarded millions, the highest jury award in Virginia at that time.

On appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed, on the grounds that window screens are intended to keep bugs out, not keep kids in. The old seasoned trial judge had misapplied the law, they ruled.

Whoda thunk it?

[robertpaulsen]

I feel for the family, but have to agree. At some point, whether it's a 2-year-old, 6-year-old, etc., the screen's gonna give, even with longer pins.

"Window screens are made to pop out for fire safety reasons, and do not serve as abarrier to prevent children from falling out of windows." (Christoffel KK. How can we prevent children from falling out of windows. Presentation at the APH conference, Chicago, Illinois, January 23, 1985.)

[Joe_October]

Since every case has to go throw at least two courts to get an acceptable verdict, we should cut the salary of everyone involved (that is paid by the State) in half. We are only getting half value for their service.

I bet they would then have to go to triple levels to get an answer.