The word “frivolous” means “of little weight or importance”. In the law, “frivolous” equates to “lacking merit.” We hear a lot of generalized arguments today from people who throw around the word “frivolous” without saying what they really mean, or, more importantly, disclosing why they are saying it.
Insurance companies market that they protect their premium paying customers from “frivolous claims”. But aren’t meritless claims the easiest to defend? Why not talk about whether you protect your insureds from meritorious claims? Aren’t those the ones that an insured should be worried about being protected from?
Opponents of Governmental Qualified Immunity reform bemoan that our legislators are “opening the doors to frivolous Lawsuits”. Why don’t they ever mention that qualified immunity laws have also closed the courthouse door to citizens who have meritorious claims?
Lobbyists for certain specially protected classes of businesses and professionals argue that frivolous court cases drive up the costs for their goods and services. What about the cost to consumers caused by the unsafe practices by businesses and professionals who do not need to worry about the consequences of negligent or careless behavior because they have legal protections that are not afforded to the average citizen?
People of Integrity say what they mean.
When people use the phrase, “frivolous lawsuits” what they actually mean is “all lawsuits.” Insurance is needed to protect against the risk of all lawsuits, most especially meritorious claims where significant indemnity will have to be paid; qualified immunity laws bar from the courthouse even plaintiffs with meritorious causes of action; and those certain special classes of businesses and professionals which enjoy legal protections not afforded to the average citizen, enjoy that protection from all claims, including claims where their liability is clear and the damages they caused is devastating.
But, no one sells insurance by talking about protecting careless persons; no one lobbies for immunity laws by pointing out that those laws bar citizens from receiving compensation when they are victimized by negligent public employees, and no specially protected business or profession wants to admit that what they most enjoy is the protection from their big mistakes, and not claims that are without merit to begin with.
As President John Adams said, along with our representative form of government, “trial by jury [is] the heart and lungs of liberty.” Ordinary citizens who sit on juries are quite good at figuring out what lawsuits have merit, and which ones do not. If you have sat on a jury, you know this.
When you hear “frivolous lawsuit,” remember, what they are not telling you is that they equate “all lawsuits” with “frivolous lawsuits.” They aren’t saying what they mean. What they mean is, we don’t like our civil justice system; we want special protections under the system even when we commit a wrong; and we don’t want to have the same level of accountability as the average citizen.
Everyone has their point of view. Just have some integrity, and say what you mean.
