Your Stories

• Cutting Asbestos with Someone Else’s Product

  We purchased a trade name in 1983 from a bankrupt public corporation and have been making grinding and cutting wheels since that time. Sometime between the late 30s and late 70s, the plaintiff was a pipe fitter, who cut asbestos.

  We are being sued because the former owner of the trade name did not warn not to cut asbestos with the product. This lawsuit has 8,500 different company names and individual names listed, from little companies like ours to large companies like auto manufacturers. I turned this over to my insurance company first and then was informed that I have an asbestos exclusion in my policy. I imagine I should have looked for such a thing, but, since we never have sold or made anything containing asbestos, it was not a priority. Now we have to pay for our own defense in such a ridiculous suit.

  Submitted by Douglas M. in Michigan
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• Homebuilder

  People sued our company because we received two offers on the same house in the same day and we accepted the other offer. It’s been 3 years, and they’ve gone to 7 different courts. They’ve lost every time, and they’re still after it.

  Submitted by Mark B. in Washington
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• Sued for Saving a Life

  One of the first cases I litigated was one where a woman sued her township for property damage because they used the Jaws of Life to extract her from her car after she ran it into a telephone pole in a single car accident.

  Submitted by Casey J. in Pennsylvania
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• Lazy Employee

  Recently, my wife’s business was sued by a former employee who sued after my wife terminated her due to client and co-worker complaints. The girl sued for punitive and compensatory damages because she was pregnant at the time. Never mind that my wife has had and still has pregnant women working for her in a female dominated industry, a hair salon.

  Lucky for my wife her workers comp covered our attorney fees and the settlement, but it cost my wife nearly $10,000 out of pocket for initial defense attorney fees. The problem with it is that in New Jersey state law prohibits companies from subpoenaing employee work history in ”discrimination” lawsuits. Had this not been in the law, we would have not had to spend that kind of money.

  Submitted by Joe R. in New Jersey
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• Sue the dead?

  Two months after my father died, a woman sued him for slander and a long laundry list of completely false items.  I had signed documents and witnesses to prove every single claim was false, but the estate attorney insisted we pay her off because it would be too costly to take it to court. Even if we won, the courts would not make her pay our legal fees.  We still lose.  It cost us over $40,000 in legal fees just to get to the point of negotiating her payoff price.  

  Why shouldn’t she file such a lawsuit?  It costs her nothing at all.  Her lawyer works on commission and takes a percentage.  She cannot be punished in any way.  Her lawyer cannot be punished.  But if I, as the executor of the estate, refused to pay her off and insist on taking it to court, the other heirs can sue me for wasting the assets of the estate.

  Submitted by Jacqueline G. in Louisiana
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• Sued by Neighbor for Hurricane Damage

  My parents have been the victim of a lawsuit based on hurricane damage. A neighbor used a lawsuit to try and extort $25,000.00 of damages for a car dented by a tree in hurricane Frances. While the lawsuit was filed in 2005, the case is still unresolved.

  Submitted by Ricardo R. in Florida
  One Comment

• Sued after firing poorly performing employee

  I hired a woman on a salary plus commission basis. The woman seemed to be a great fit initially, but things quickly changed. She had poor performance, did not adhere to the rules of the company, and on more than one occasion, she did not show up to work at all. Her employment was terminated in May of that same year.

  I received summons describing the suit that she was filing against me less than a week after her termination. I later found that she had retained representation within the first month of employment. In addition, my company was not the only company her family was suing at the time.

  I got to the point where I had paid around 10k, and I couldn’t go on. I was working day and night and couldn’t keep up with my bills. I had accepted that my company had failed and that I was ready to quit.

  But the trial lasted for three days and I won. No monies were ever collected from the plaintiff, so I ask what exactly did I win? I am in debt, and she has no idea how much pain her little lie has caused me. In fact, I am quite sure she has moved on to her next frivolous lawsuit.

  Submitted by Christy F. in Florida
  7 Comments

• Victimized by Jurisdiction Shopping

  I am a small business owner, and I have been a victim of several frivolous law suits from the same party. Even when I prevailed in one court, the plaintiff re-formulated the lawsuits and took them to adjoining localities in hopes of finding a sympathetic judge or jury. So far the plaintiff’s efforts have failed, but this so-called jurisdiction shopping continues.

  Submitted by Jim H. in North Carolina
  2 Comments