On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 13:24:51 -0800, "G.T."
wrote:

David wrote:
James Annan wrote:

Werehatrack wrote:

Those of us who have seen your prior postings about the issue of disc
brake ejections are fully aware of your position on the matter.



However, those who read Carlton's article on Bikebiz might think it
safe to draw the conclusion that "industry experts say QRs are safe,
when used correctly", even though numerous industry experts have quite
clearly expressed the contrary view.

They will also not know that one case was recently settled in favour
of the rider.

James


Out of court settlements almost always include a statement that the
plantiff is not admitting liability. It is often less costly to pay a
small settlement than it is to defend the claim, particularly if the
jurisdiction is known to be plaintiff-favorable.

That first plantiff should be defendant.

True, as is the statement so amended.

And in fact, in most such cases, getting an out-of-court settlement
also has two other beneficial results for the defendant; it ends the
case completely without any opening for it to continue through some
sort of appeal, and it precludes the possibility that the case can be
used as a precedent. Given the combination of cost of defense, the
possibility that the suit might initially be lost (and thereby often
bring on a spate of me-too suits), the hazard that the defense expense
might dwarf the actual settlement if an appeal is (or must be) filed,
and the hazard that the finding might be cited in other cases as a
precedent, there's lots of reason to shut down the process by making
an offer to settle even when the case isn't necessarily all that
strong for the plaintiff.

In some states, the impetus to settle is being reduced by
defendant-friendly changes to statute, often made under the guise of
"ending lawsuit abuse". Sometimes, what's billed as an abuse-control
measure turns out to be a PLI-defense attorney's nightmare...because
the defense lawyers don't get paid the big bucks for doing the
slam-dunk early dismissal filings, they only make the big bucks when
the case goes on long enough to rack up some worthwhile billable
hours.

Look for subtle and stealthy moves by PLI defense attorneys, and more
open ones by plaintiff lawyers, to get plaintiff-friendly changes made
if their billable hours drop too low. They both have a vested
interest in keeping the process alive.
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