Staff attorneys at wal-mart are paid a salary so their hours are a constant expense anyway no matter what the workload is. Also the staff attorneys work multiple cases simultaneously. But 100 suits deterred is a genuine savings, that is where the staff attorneys become an asset rather than an expense.
Don't forget, the lawyers at OSHA are on salary too. Still, it's fun to see them outsmarted.
Many years ago, IBM announced a vapor(hard)ware machine the day before Control Data Corporation (CDC) was to unveil their (in the flesh) super-dooper number cruncher. Of course IBM got all the press.
CDC got pissed and sued IBM for restraint of trade, unfair competition, and everything else. The Justice Department, smelling blood, joined the suit and called for a break-up of IBM.
The suit went on for YEARS (there were more lawyers on IBM's side than the entire complement of the Anti-Trust division of the DOJ). Finally, the night before trial was to start, IBM and CDC worked a secret, backroom deal. CDC got an undisclosed amount of cash and a division of IBM, The Service Bureau Corporation. CDC technicians worked all night to fulfill their part of the deal: destroying all records, depositions, data bases, etc. so that not a scrap of analysis or discovery gleaned in almost ten years remained. Not even a tittle.
The next day, CDC withdrew their suit and the DOJ had bupkus.
Apples and Oranges man... "Slip-and-fall" cases are civil lawsuits brought by private parties against a company in which the injured party claims negligence on the part of the defendant contributed to their injury... You will never know the totally honest figures as far as how many claims big businesses settle on, as a "gag order" is usually a term of the settlement offer and the plaintiff would have to surrender their monetary award if they ever disclosed any such information...
Walmart vs. OHSA is a dispute over "administrative law" on the part of the OHSA officials interpretation of how and where it can apply its regulations and just what should have been foreseeable and what shouldn't have been... Administrative law has the full force and effect of Federal or State law only it was written internally by the government agency which is enforcing it...
Walmart is by no means the only company which can challenge the government at this level... Most international corporations have more in-house counsel on staff for various specialties than any government agency... Every contract they enter into has to be evaluated as to how it will be interpreted and enforced in each jurisdiction where it applies and usually when entering into a complicated contract the parties agree that any disputes over the terms of the contract will be dealt with in a given court... I.E. one party is surrendering their legal rights to bring suit in a local court and is agreeing that any disputes MUST be dealt with in a specific jurisdiction...
~~ Evan
What on earth are you blabbering on about ?
"Guilty" is only a plea entered in a Criminal Court when brought up on a criminal charge...
Walmart is going after OHSA on some of the finer points of "administrative law"... Taking the agency to court for such interpretations is the only recourse after you have exhausted discussing the matter with those higher up in the food chain of the agency than the individual who has meted out the fine or citation...
As far as the justice system being unfair ? It sounds like you really don't know enough about it to make that determination...
When you are charged with a crime that will result in a loss of freedom (a.k.a. you are placed in "jeopardy") you are automatically appointed a lawyer free of charge if you can not afford to hire one on your own...
If more people were aware of their 5th amendment rights and actually made use of them by remaining silent when they are placed under arrest and strongly demanding an attorney, most of the people you say are being unfairly dealt with by the system would have more of an opportunity to have a better outcome...
As far as going to trial, only 10% of criminal cases ever make it to a trial because most people are willing to go for the sure thing and they make a deal if they can get one... Many cases are dropped because of reluctant witnesses or evidence that gets contaminated or misplaced... As to your "you get the book thrown at you if you dare to go to trial and lose" rant, that has NOTHING to do with the fact you went to trial... That has everything to do with various nut-job anti-crime zealots out there who demand "mandatory minimum sentences" for every crime under the sun -- taking the power of the trial judge away and forcing them to impose the mandated sentence upon the defendant when they are found guilty...
You are innocent until proven guilty in the American criminal justice system, most people screw themselves over by trying to talk their way out of it with the police, seemingly unaware that everything they say in an interview room with the police is recorded... It might not end up being used against you as direct evidence at a trial but it is usually more than enough to prevent your lawyer from putting you on the stand to tell your side of the story as then the things you said to the police during the interview can be used to impeach what you are testifying about and make you look even worse than you are... In order to be punished you need to be found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" by a jury of 12 of your fellow citizens or a judge if you give up your right to a jury and opt for a bench trial...
~~ Evan
17% of the lawyer's "billable hours" (lingo for their working time) of the in-house staff counsel at the Dept. of Labor - New York Office - OHSA Division are being dedicated to this one case... They are not "underemployed" as they would otherwise be dealing with multitudes of more simple cases if they were not engaged in the effort to defend their agencies position on the Walmart matter...
If you think that is odd, you have no idea how many man hours and tax dollars go into presenting some criminal cases... Two or three Assistant District Attorneys prepping a case where millions of dollars have been spent to get it this far with investigation time, evidence gathering, lab processing of the evidence and obtaining expert witnesses to provide testimony... That all adds up very quickly...
~~ Evan
Absolutely not... The only costs involved are the filing fees and the costs of any presentation materials and expert witnesses...
When in-house legal staff are busy with one case that means that any other cases would just take the remaining staffers longer to deal with until the "case of utmost importance" is resolved and those tasked with taking it on are free to deal with other matters...
What litigation would cost excessively more money, one in which your in-house counsel staff is inadequate to deal with either because of the legal area in dispute OR the amount of time it would take away from other legal matters and therefore hiring on outside attorneys at a great cost is required which costs money upfront which can be recouped in the damages awarded if you successfully prosecute your case and win...
~~ Evan
If more people were aware of their 5th amendment rights and actually made use of them by remaining silent when they are placed under arrest and strongly demanding an attorney, most of the people you say are being unfairly dealt with by the system would have more of an opportunity to have a better outcome...
===================
Excellent video on the 5th amendment, and how easy it is to get yourself in trouble. I'd like to try this next time I get pulled over for some nebulous traffic offense. Sit there in total silence. Or maybe tell the cop "I'm bored with dinner ideas. What are you having tonight?"
There ya' go, HB, muh man! I know I always break out in wild celebration whenever worker's safety suffers a significant defeat.
How many fingers you got, there, HB?
nb
And if you consider benefits, and inability to layoff easily if you over-hired, it might be cheaper to augment the staff with contracted attorneys. In any case the legal work is a planned, budgeted, known expense for a company like wal-mart. But having to pay suits is not.
Try that one in Chicago and you'll get what we call here a "tune up" from the cop. That boy needs a "tune up"!
Try that one in Chicago and you'll get what we call here a "tune up" from the cop. That boy needs a "tune up"! ============
Well, we need SOME kind of a good response to "Do you know how fast you were going?" I suppose another would be "How fast do YOU think I was going?" Respond ONLY with questions. The only safe statement to make is "I'm bored with dinner ideas.", or "I need to wash this car more often."
Big corporations always use litigation to bankrupt their enemies. Just what the constitution was crated for.
Good video. One thing not mentioned was "Res gestae", something spoken / blurted out before the officer even asked the first question.
"I didn't mean to shoot him!" "Officer I didn't see the kid, I feel so bad."
All spoken before Miranda warnings.
"Res gestae (Latin "things done") is a term found in substantive and procedural American jurisprudence and English law."
Have they ever conceded that a case had merit?
Destroying evidence is often not the best idea.
Unfortunate that you think you should accept the idea of a police "tune up". Police are our employees. You simply need to give them respect and no more. Any cop who delivers a "tune up" needs to be immediately dismissed and prosecuted.
My good friend is the police chief in a 100,000 population area and he will tell you the best defense you have against dishonest police or police who are looking for an easy way to close a case is to respectfully say nothing.
LSMFT wrote in news:fto1o.36227$3% snipped-for-privacy@newsfe23.iad:
actually,the FEDGOV has essentially unlimited time,resources and money(taxpayer money) to pursue lawsuits. Corporations will usually take the path of lowest cost to them.
A company I worked for,Tektronix,fought from 1961 to 1971 on a patent infringement case,where the Feds took Tek o'scope designs to other companies and had them make copies of the scopes,and bought those instead of from Tek. They were copied all the way down to unused bolt holes in the chassis.
But they performed poorly compared to Tek originals.... :-)
So,I find it humorous that a FedGov employee is complaining about getting dragged into court.
What's the use of a WET FLOOR sign, when you need a sign which says, CUIDADO PISO MOJADO?
Are you for real? Doing back flips because WW is fighting a $7k fine, for an employee getting killed?
I'll bet you really get your jollies off if you hear of mutiple fatalities at a work place.
Absolutely digusting.
What about an attitude adjustment? I worked with a guy nicknamed "Spin". When the person left his office, he forgot what he went there for. Spin spun him around.
No office furniture damaged.
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