...RUNNING HEAD: COMPARE AND CONTRAST Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Paper As an organization strives to achieve goals through such things as innovation, technology, and leadership; the threat of litigation can become reality which requires expertise and knowledge to effectively defend. For those organizations conducting business in the United States, conventional judicial and nonjudicial dispute resolution can be pursued based upon the circumstances within a lawsuit. The subject of this paper is to compare and contrast traditional litigation system with the nontraditional forms of alternative dispute resolution. Traditional Litigation System Traditional litigation system is one that is commonly portrayed in society as a formal process based upon the laws that govern under the Federal, State, and Local court systems. Typically, the plaintiff and defendant utilize the courts to decide the outcome of a case based upon evidence and testimony. This process can be complex which follows strict guidelines and procedures that must be adhered in order to honor the process and integrity of the applicable court. As a result, both parties typically retain the services of an attorney to direct all communication and documentation in an effort to accurately present a position or case. Nontraditional Forms Nontraditional forms is an substitute to the traditional litigation system which is commonly referred as alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute...
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...immensely creative with their claims, creating lawsuits over ludicrous motivations. Many cases endure for years or longer. Nevertheless, the costs involved in defending a claim can be exorbitant. Unfortunately, despite every precaution, we live in a society where anyone, any business can be sued for anything. Solely because a lawsuit has been filed, however, does not mean the case has merit. This paper discusses two legal cases related to frivolous lawsuits. The first lawsuit was filed against the McDonald’s Corporation by Stella Liebeck in 1994. The second lawsuit was filed against Custom Cleaners by Roy L. Pearson, an administrative judge, in 2007. Both cases are notable and played a major role in guiding small and large companies in their responsibilities to their customers, reducing the risk of litigation, and protecting their assets to avoid unnecessary liability. Both cases will be analyzed by comparing and contrasting the facts, law, and merit. In addition, this paper will examine ethical issues and address the topic of frivolous lawsuits as they apply to the two cases. Finally, this paper will argue ways in which each company could have used better risk management techniques to avoid the lawsuits. The Facts McDonald’s No matter the precaution one tries to take when handling hot substances, there is always a chance of an accident, as was the case in Liebeck v. McDonald’s...
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...Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Paper University of Phoenix Business Law LAW 531 December 17, 2012 Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Paper Issues happen in organizations everyday as well as in the personal lives of the citizens of the United States. Issues considered severe enough result in going through the court systems in which the plaintiff and defendant can argue about what happened and who is right and who is wrong. However, there are more than on way of settling disputes; there is the traditional litigation process and the nontraditional litigation process. Each process is effective just as each process is vulnerable as well. The following passages will explain the differences each process goes through, the advantages and disadvantages each process has as well as the nontraditional forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Traditional Litigation Traditional litigation consists of the defendant and plaintiff settling their differences in a court of law. The trial can be done with only a judge making the final decision or those involved can call for a trial by jury. In this case a selected jury will be the determining factor in the case. Each party has the choice of using an attorney or going on alone and doing by themselves. Court procedures will follow formal rules as well as civil, local, state and federal laws. Nontraditional Litigation Nontraditional litigation is better known as an ADR and according to Bondi...
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...Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Paper MGT/521 Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Paper An organization has to have a law department in charge of the resolution and the management of legal resources and services at all levels of the organization. They should work for the legal benefit of the company and their employees looking for the best and better ways to resolve their internal and also external conflicts. “The bringing, maintaining, and defense of a lawsuit are generally referred to as the litigation process or litigation (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 35)”. Traditional are suit, answer, discovery, trial, and jury. Business organizations have at their disposal traditional and non-traditional forms of dispute resolution to remedy causes of action in settling litigation processes. A variety of traditional and non-traditional litigations forms exists according to the context of the case involves a plaintiff, a defendant, a judge, and sometimes a jury. Litigation is a conflict of interest or rights between two or more parts, which elucidate in judicial proceedings where there is a claim for damages or managerial irregularities and the opposition. Its use is more extensive in legal disputes of a civil, commercial or administrative nature and not so much in criminal trials. Litigation is a difficult, expensive and time consuming traditional process of incorporate, continue, and defend...
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...determent to those who are really seeking justice through the court system. Lawsuits that are frivolous in nature are filed in the court systems that lack legal merit (Frivolous Lawsuit Law & Legal Definition, 2015). Plaintiffs and attorneys who decide to partake in meaningless claims against other parties can anger society by wasting tax payer’s money on cases that are filed and argued with loop holes in litigation (Frivolous Lawsuit Law & Legal Definition, 2015). Evaluating the product and service liability laws will give insight into the two cases that will be discussed in this paper. The two cases covers how product liability effects the consumer and company owners of each industry of businesses. Cases that are brought to courts for product liability is always initiated by the plaintiff who has to prove if the defendant is liable for alleged action claims (Jones, 2015). Two cases that have made an impact on the pursuit of filing frivolous lawsuits is the Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Custom Cleaners case, which will be discussed in further detail throughout this paper. If cases set precedence’s in the court systems, then these two cases show how people can obtain or attempt to collect monies from others that lacks in importance to bringing legal justice per society standards. Case 1: Liebeck v. McDonald's Stella Liebeck a 79 year old consumer went to a McDonald’s drive-thru in Albuquerque New Mexico on 02/27/1992 to purchase a cup of coffee one day (Dedman &...
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...regards to legal systems whether good or bad, laws help societies maintain a sense of order, setting and maintaining a sense of normalcy, in efforts to prevent societal entropy. In America the foundation of our legal system is based on the U.S. Constitution created the nation’s founding fathers to ensure every citizen equal access to justice. Liebeck v. McDonalds and Pearson v. Chung are two highly publicize cases of Tort law. “The primary goal of tort law is to compensate the innocent persons who are injured or whose property as result of another conduct (Kubasel et al 2011, p.309). Both of these cases involve people who wanted to turn to the American legal system to obtain justice for civil wrong they felt incurred by a business. This paper will render an in depth analysis these two popular cases, exploring the facts, the issues and arguments pose in each case by asking eight critical questions that seek to evaluate the strength of both cases in comparison to one another. What are the facts of the cases? Liebeck v. McDonalds In February 1992 , Stella Liebeck, a 79...
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...Traditional and Nontraditional Litigation Systems Business Law/LAW 531 May 25, 2012 The method of conveying, sustaining, and defending a lawsuit in a court of law is litigation or judicial dispute resolution (Cheeseman, 2010). Litigation is a time consuming and costly process. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a response to the expenses of lawsuits and a popular means for resolve of cases prior to trial. ADR offers a less expensive way to resolve contract and commercial disputes while minimizing the business risks associated with traditional litigation. The litigation process is time consuming because of the different phases of the process. The first phase is the pretrial litigation process that involves pleadings, discovery, dismissals and pretrial judgments, and settlement conferences (Cheeseman, 2010). The trial phase involves jury selection, opening statements, the Plaintiff’s case, the Defendant’s case, rebuttal, closing arguments, jury instructions, jury deliberation, and entry of judgment. The appeal phase can begin once the court enters a final judgment. A trial is a more formal and a more slow process, more costly for parties involved, and judgments are enforceable by the court system. Litigation can be very time consuming and expensive for the defendant and plaintiff. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offers a less formal and intimidating environment for the parties involved, a quicker method, and less expensive resolution for the organization. ADR...
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...geographically diverse organizations, such as a McDonalds or car dealerships, where having statistical descriptive data, clear understanding of the policies, up and down the organization, and ensuring no significant information is being omitted is critical to running the company and avoiding lawsuits. A manager must be able to effectively analyze and evaluate data to make informed, intelligent decisions in many different situations. They need to be able to evaluate the reasons, without biases, in order to make sound decisions for the organization, as well as their employees and customers. There are lessons learned from the cases reviewed this week for managers related to critical thinking based on the two cases that are the focus of this paper, Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Custom Cleaners. . Liebeck vs. McDonalds As a very controversial tort case, Liebeck vs. McDonalds was a closely followed by the news and legal community. This case has been used as an example demonstrating a need for tort reform in the legal system. It started out seeming a simple frivolous lawsuit that was going to waste the court’s and jury’s time. It seemed clear that Liebeck was negligent in not exercising caution in handling her coffee but in the end, it was “found that MdDonald’s was 80% responsible for the incident, while Liebeck was 20% at...
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...The original case of George Spinner (represented by Housing and Urban Development (HUD)) vs. Reno Housing Authority centered on Mr. Spinner alleging that the Reno Housing Authority had not properly accommodated his handicap and had disallowed a deduction from his expected rent contribution. This specific deduction was a “medical” allowance that allowed Mr. Spinner to eat at a local restaurant for one of his meals per day. Mr. Spinner has a severe case of Tourette’s syndrome, and also has a patch over one eye. Medical professionals have stated that Mr. Spinner cannot safely prepare food over an open flame at home, and clearly an electric stovetop would also be dangerous to Mr. Spinner. It is also impossible for Mr. Spinner to keep his apartment clean and organized, so a cleaning crew cleans his apartment once a day. The key issue was that Mr. Spinner wanted to continue getting an allowance to keep eating at a restaurant one per day in the evening, so he could eat hot meals at night. This had been the arrangement when he lived in Tucson. Mr. Spinner had asked for a review of his expected rent contribution. He believed he was having trouble making ends meet, and he wanted more discretionary funds so he could eat at a restaurant in the evenings. Reno Housing Authority responded by increasing his expected contribution to rent (hence reducing his disposable income), but they offered to have a live-in assistant cook hot meals for him instead. Mr. Spinner didn’t want someone living...
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...Critical Thinking in the Legal Environment: Torts and Product Liability A Review of the Pearson v. Chung and Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants Lawsuits Executive Summary This paper will compare and contrast the legal and ethical factors surrounding the Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Chungs lawsuits all of which have been labeled frivolous. The first case is of Liebeck v. McDonald’s, Liebeck simply wanted a cup of coffee from McDonald’s. The second case of Pearson v. Chung, Pearson entrusted the care of his designer apparel to his local drycleaner. Should consumers stop trusting that companies have our best interest at heart and not their bottom line? Liebeck purchased a cup of coffee at the drive through of McDonald’s, the driver pulls to the side so she can add the sugar and cream. Maybe her mistake was putting the cup between her knees; perhaps there were no available cup holders. The cup tips over spilling the piping hot coffee all over her lap. McDonald’s is aware that the coffee they brew at over 190 degrees has burnt hundreds of consumers because they have settled more than $500,000 worth of complaints. Yet McDonald’s has refused this particular woman’s claim for her medical bills amounting to $11,000.00, forcing her to take legal action. Next, Pearson, a prominent attorney promoted to Administrative Law Judge in Washington D.C., excited about his newly acquired stature is eager to begin his job, which in turn requires him to wear a suit every day...
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... and was awarded millions of dollars from her lawsuit against McDonalds. The coffee was not only hot, but it was scalding, capable of immediate damage to the skin, flesh and muscle (Letric Law, 2011). In addition to the above case, the Pearson v. Chung case, also known as the “pants lawsuit”, was also a well known case in America in 2005 (Lexis-Nexis, 2008). This is a case where an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia had taken a pair of pants to the cleaners for alteration and dry cleaning; and sued the cleaners for $67 million dollars for the loss of his pants. The case was considered frivolous and became a flashpoint in the debate in the United States over tort reform (Lexis-Nexis, 2008). The major focus of this paper will be to critically analyze these two cases on the stated facts, the issues, the applicable laws, and the decision of the judge and the jury. What are the facts? There are some facts associated with Liebeck v. McDonald’s case. The woman involved in this case was 79-year old Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who earned $5,000.00 a year as a sales clerk (Cain, 2008). On February 29, 1992, Stella, who was a passenger in Chris, her grandson’s car, a Ford Probe, ordered a cup of coffee at a drive-thru window at a local McDonald restaurant; and the coffee was served in a styrofoam cup (Letric Law, 2011). Furthermore, Chris drove away from the drive-thru window, stopped the car so Ms. Liebeck could add...
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...Product Liability Management Victor Adejayan Dr. Dianne Barrs Strayer University LEG 500 September, 2012 Product liability is the responsibility of a manufacturer for injury or loss caused by its product (Dictionary.com). Product liability serves to protect the public but it is may turn out to be very expensive to organizations. Management has the duty of making sure that organizations’ resources, especially funds and reputation, do not suffer unnecessary attrition and damages through the implementation of effective, affordable product liability programs. It is important to have people in management that possess the skills such needed to solve liability issues in the legal arena, most importantly before they occur.The challenge of the manager is fulfilling his/hers responsibilities by generating profit in business while protecting the interests of otherstakeholders, such as, employees and customers. Though the savvy manager cannot stop people from having the intention and grievances to sue the organization, they can reduce the motive of prospective plaintiffs and in event of a lawsuit happens; effective product liability management mitigates the negative effects on the organization. Management has the duty of making sure the product liability policies and programs of the organization is clear, concise and precise so that the interpretation thereof cannot be turned to work against the organization. Most lawsuits that are directed at organizations arise...
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...Week 7: Case Studies Research Michael Abernathy 11/24/15 AMBA 610 The Facts The circumstances in the case of Stella Lieback v McDonald’s Restaurant consist of a hot coffee burn incident. Stella Lieback a 79- year old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico visited a drive-through McDonalds. The incident took place on February 27, 1992 as a passenger in her grandsons ’89 ford probe, a vehicle with no cup holders. The case of Roy L. Pearson V Chung better known as the “pants lawsuit” which was a civil case filed in ‘2005. Pearson sued a D.C. dry cleaning establishment by the name of Custom Cleaners, for over $67 million for the loss of a pair of pants. The facts in the case state that the plaintiff left a pair of gray pants that probably could be extricated by a trio of belt loops on both sides of the front waist band. It appears there was a delay in providing the clothing due to plaintiff stating that the pants returned to him weren’t those submitted for service. As a result of the dispute the recourse taken by Custom Cleaners was to provide records and tags with proper documentation belonging to Pearson to resolve the issue at hand. Monetary play of $1,000.00 was the move Pearson made to Mr. Chung in order to rectify the dispute with the cleaners. This led to a refusal by the cleaner owner and Pearson filing a suit in the District of Columbia’s Superior Court. The Issues Presented The issues identified in case are third -degree medical burns from the coffee...
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...Today in Illinois, frivolous lawsuits are blocking the court system. Not only are they blocking the court system, but they are costing the state too much money. When you file a frivolous lawsuit, you are basically slowing down the court system. In Illinois, frivolous lawsuits can be avoided by limiting the amount of lawsuits one person could file yearly, putting a fine or deposit down before a case is started, or our state could hire a court to review the cases before the become active to see if they should not be settled. One thing Illinois could do to prevent frivolous lawsuits is that we could set a limit on how many lawsuits one person could file yearly. If this would happen, Illinois’ frivolous cases would majorly decrease. This new law would block people from entering cases that they are submitting only so they can get money. In my opinion, one person should only be entering 25-35 cases per year. If one person was to be filing more than this amount, it would be noted that they are just trying to gain money. Another way frivolous lawsuits could be avoided is to have the plaintiff pay a fine before the case is viewed. If this fine, or deposit, was enacted, less people would file the suit. By making people pay before the case, they might not file the case because they know they might lose. Most frivolous cases are filed because the person is just doing it for fun, or they just want to make money. Even if they still win the frivolous case, the person would have lost...
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...McDonalds coffee and the Liebeck lawsuit •Osmond-Riba home •Elisabeth Riba home •Elisabeth Riba's Journal Writing > I've read recently that the McDonald's coffee lawsuit is back in the news again, being used as an example of frivolous lawsuits, irresponsible juries, excessive verdicts, a generally out-of-control legal system, and thus a justification for tort reform. However, after doing some research, I discovered that the case was hardly as unreasonable as people often make it out to be. I originally wrote this for Usenet several years ago; the links at the bottom of the essay may have expired. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- McDonalds coffee and the Liebeck lawsuit Lis Riba, 2000 Here are some facts about what really happened: At the trial, it was revealed: •McDonalds required their coffee kept at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 5 degrees, significantly higher than other establishments. [Coffee is usually served at 135 to 140 degrees] •An expert testified that 180 degree liquids will cause full thickness burns in 2 to 7 seconds. •McDonalds knew before this accident that burn hazards exist with any foods served above 140 degrees. •McDonalds knew that its coffee would burn drinkers at the temperature they served it. •McDonalds research showed that customers consumed coffee immediately while driving. •McDonalds knew of over 700 people burned by its...
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