Lawsuits Against the Fast-Food Industry

Jonathan Turley’s July 26 commentary, “Betcha Can’t Sue Just One,” while tongue-in-cheek, is nevertheless a sad commentary. With asbestos and tobacco legislation as backdrops, the looming fast-food litigation shows that our legal system is mutating into a lottery-ticket sham: buy a ticket/join a lawsuit and hope for a big jackpot/award (most of which goes to the barker/lawyer).

Juries of economic illiterates dutifully award these jackpots, ignorant of who actually pays (after defendant firms pass along the cost in higher prices)--we do. So class-action tort lawyers become a quasi-governmental agency: They impose taxes on the public and use the courts as their personal tax collectors, amassing CEO-level wealth while most plaintiffs typically get pennies on the dollar. And some actually call this a system of justice?

Jodie Munden

San Clemente