Bobby Jindall - purveyer of buzzword "frivilous lawsuits"

[paineinthearse]

I first became aware of Rep. Jindal a few weeks before the Novemeber election while reading the India press. It was all abuzz that he may become the first person of Indian descent to be elected to the US House of Representatives. The GOP are all ga-ga over him as a "rising star".


http://www.house.gov/jindal/

My first exposure to him as a Representative was during the floor debate over the Ohio, when he joined the call to "get over it and move on".

Jindal held the floor for one hour, the subject being the fear and lothing of mediacl malpractice. Note at one point, he repeats "FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS" three times in two sentences. Overall, I count 23 uses of the phrase, not quite the number of times * used "freedom" (27) and "liberty" (13) in his "naugural" address. Here are the excerpts:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r109:2:./temp/~r109sfwR8o:e0:

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CHALLENGES TO OUR FREEDOMS AND RIGHTS HERE AT HOME -- (House of Representatives - January 25, 2005)

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The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mike Rogers of Alabama). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jindal) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

Mr. JINDAL. Mr. Speaker, this month, this year started off as potentially a great month, a great year for democracy and for freedom. The President gave a soaring speech about spreading freedom and liberty across the world. We have elections coming for the first time to the people of Iraq.

Yet even despite this optimism and this hope, there are also serious challenges to our freedoms and our rights right here at home. Tonight I want to speak about both those opportunities and those challenges. We have got opportunity in Iraq with free elections. We have got threats here at home with FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS threatening our freedoms, threatening our way of life. We have got threats here at home with recent IRS rulings and decisions threatening the ability of homeowners to keep their homes, to live in their homes. Finally, we have threats here at home threatening the ability of people across the wonderful State of California from enjoying the great oysters from my home State of Louisiana.

Just today, I want to start first with the threat of FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS and the threat that poses to our way of life. In today's news, we find that a Federal appellate court has reinstated a lawsuit against the McDonald's restaurant, against the McDonald's chain. For those of you not familiar with this lawsuit, it was brought in New York by a family claiming that McDonald's restaurant should be responsible for the fact that their children have eaten too much of McDonald's food.


I am a parent. I have got two beautiful young children, a 3-year-old girl and a little 9-month-old boy. My little 3-year-old girl enjoys McDonald's. She likes eating out. She likes the playground as much as the food. And it is my job, it is her mother's job, it is both of our jobs to make sure that our daughter eats a balanced meal. We would never in a million years think of blaming another, think of bringing a lawsuit against a restaurant for the fact that our daughter eats too many chicken McNuggets or too many French fries.

In my mind this is just one more example of FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, one more example of how FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS can actually erode our freedoms, our liberties, our economic rights. If this lawsuit in particular and FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS in general are allowed to stand, I fear that we will not have freedoms that we take for granted, the freedoms to go our favorite restaurants, the freedoms to open and operate small businesses, the freedoms to earn a living.

<snip>

These are the kinds of reforms that were adopted in my home State of Louisiana, adopted in California decades ago through Democratic legislatures, through bipartisan majorities. These are the kinds of reforms that can restore not only some sensibility to our legal system, save our taxpayers, save our health care patients billions of dollars. They can also make sure that injured patients are truly being compensated for their injuries. FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, excessive jury awards, are driving many health care providers out of communities, forcing doctors to practice overly defensive medicine.

In the neighboring State, in Mississippi, last year alone, they had a health care crisis. Many towns, many communities could not find doctors willing to deliver babies because of the malpractice crisis right next door. They literally had doctors threatening to move across the border into Louisiana, setting up clinics and hospitals across the border to treat patients from Mississippi. Fortunately, they have taken some steps to reform their legal system. We still have a health care system in crisis. We still have many communities that do not have health care providers. Even those communities with health care providers often have to charge higher insurance premiums, higher health care costs thanks to FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS.

The President has proposed a very sensible plan. He allows unlimited compensation for true economic losses. He allows recoveries for noneconomic damages up to a reasonable amount. He allows punitive damages for the worst cases. He also makes sure that old cases cannot be brought to court several years after they have actually taken place. And, finally, he makes sure that defendants only pay judgments in proportion to their actual fault. If we listen carefully, patients will be able to collect their noneconomic damages; they would be able to collect reasonable punitive damages in the worst cases. We would make sure that defendants are only liable for what they caused, that we do not go searching for the deep pockets, we do not just go suing the first person we can find. We would make sure that the people that are hurt are truly compensated. At the same time we control the unnecessary costs, the FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS that are plaguing our health care system today.

The second reform that has been presented is truly reforming our class action system. We support class action reforms to limit the abuse of large nationwide class action cases to return justice to the truly injured parties. The current system, which is so abused, often does not benefit injured parties. It undermines our American judicial system. Often we have injured parties that receive awards with little or no value. They give us little coupons in the mail, while their attorneys receive large fees.

It makes sense to move these cases to the Federal system. And oftentimes we are involving interstate class action lawsuits. We are talking about cases that affect many citizens. We are talking about cases that involve more money, that involve interstate commerce issues. It makes sense that these cases should be heard in a Federal court. This does not alter in one way the right of a plaintiff to bring a legitimate claim to court. So in addition to protecting our physicians, protecting our health care system from FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, we also need to do more to revamp our current class action system.

Finally, the third piece of tort reform, frivolous lawsuit reform, that has been proposed is fixing our asbestos litigation system. We need to help those workers that have truly been injured with a fairer system and a long-term solution. The current system leaves little or no funds to pay current and future asbestos victims. Already we have bankrupted over 74 companies. My concern is those that were truly injured, there will be no funds left for them, and in the meantime we will destroy several companies rather than truly compensating those that have been injured.

I think that the FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS and out-of-control legal system can pose a very serious threat to America's freedoms, can pose a very serious threat to the American Dream. We are a country of economic opportunity. We are a country where small business owners can create a better quality of life by serving their customers. We need to preserve the risk-taking, the entrepreneurial spirit that not only makes America great, makes America a beacon of hope and opportunity for people all over the world, but also makes sure that not only we but our children have jobs, make sure that their economic growth continues unabated.

These three reforms are necessary, in the medical malpractice, in the class action area, and then finally in the asbestos area, to make sure that we restore some reason to our legal system, to make sure that we truly compensate those that have been injured, those that have been injured through others' neglect, but at the same time we do not punish honest business people, we do not punish physicians trying to provide high-quality medical care, we do not engage in FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, we do not perpetuate a lottery-style system.

<snip>

Due to an onslaught of FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, our physicians are being forced to pay exorbitant premiums on their liability insurance. The rates have risen so high that many family practitioners and OB-GYNs are being forced to retire early or simply go out of business. Doctors are refusing to deliver babies or perform surgery because they are afraid of being sued. That is especially a problem in our rural communities, where many doctors are sole practitioners.

<snip>

These are the kinds of reforms that were adopted in my home State of Louisiana, adopted in California decades ago through Democratic legislatures, through bipartisan majorities. These are the kinds of reforms that can restore not only some sensibility to our legal system, save our taxpayers, save our health care patients billions of dollars. They can also make sure that injured patients are truly being compensated for their injuries. FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, excessive jury awards, are driving many health care providers out of communities, forcing doctors to practice overly defensive medicine.

In the neighboring State, in Mississippi, last year alone, they had a health care crisis. Many towns, many communities could not find doctors willing to deliver babies because of the malpractice crisis right next door. They literally had doctors threatening to move across the border into Louisiana, setting up clinics and hospitals across the border to treat patients from Mississippi. Fortunately, they have taken some steps to reform their legal system. We still have a health care system in crisis. We still have many communities that do not have health care providers. Even those communities with health care providers often have to charge higher insurance premiums, higher health care costs thanks to FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS.

The President has proposed a very sensible plan. He allows unlimited compensation for true economic losses. He allows recoveries for noneconomic damages up to a reasonable amount. He allows punitive damages for the worst cases. He also makes sure that old cases cannot be brought to court several years after they have actually taken place. And, finally, he makes sure that defendants only pay judgments in proportion to their actual fault. If we listen carefully, patients will be able to collect their noneconomic damages; they would be able to collect reasonable punitive damages in the worst cases. We would make sure that defendants are only liable for what they caused, that we do not go searching for the deep pockets, we do not just go suing the first person we can find. We would make sure that the people that are hurt are truly compensated. At the same time we control the unnecessary costs, the FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS that are plaguing our health care system today.

The second reform that has been presented is truly reforming our class action system. We support class action reforms to limit the abuse of large nationwide class action cases to return justice to the truly injured parties. The current system, which is so abused, often does not benefit injured parties. It undermines our American judicial system. Often we have injured parties that receive awards with little or no value. They give us little coupons in the mail, while their attorneys receive large fees.

It makes sense to move these cases to the Federal system. And oftentimes we are involving interstate class action lawsuits. We are talking about cases that affect many citizens. We are talking about cases that involve more money, that involve interstate commerce issues. It makes sense that these cases should be heard in a Federal court. This does not alter in one way the right of a plaintiff to bring a legitimate claim to court. So in addition to protecting our physicians, protecting our health care system from FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, we also need to do more to revamp our current class action system.

Finally, the third piece of tort reform, frivolous lawsuit reform, that has been proposed is fixing our asbestos litigation system. We need to help those workers that have truly been injured with a fairer system and a long-term solution. The current system leaves little or no funds to pay current and future asbestos victims. Already we have bankrupted over 74 companies. My concern is those that were truly injured, there will be no funds left for them, and in the meantime we will destroy several companies rather than truly compensating those that have been injured.

I think that the FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS and out-of-control legal system can pose a very serious threat to America's freedoms, can pose a very serious threat to the American Dream. We are a country of economic opportunity. We are a country where small business owners can create a better quality of life by serving their customers. We need to preserve the risk-taking, the entrepreneurial spirit that not only makes America great, makes America a beacon of hope and opportunity for people all over the world, but also makes sure that not only we but our children have jobs, make sure that their economic growth continues unabated.

These three reforms are necessary, in the medical malpractice, in the class action area, and then finally in the asbestos area, to make sure that we restore some reason to our legal system, to make sure that we truly compensate those that have been injured, those that have been injured through others' neglect, but at the same time we do not punish honest business people, we do not punish physicians trying to provide high-quality medical care, we do not engage in FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, we do not perpetuate a lottery-style system.

<snip>



Due to an onslaught of FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, our physicians are being forced to pay exorbitant premiums on their liability insurance. The rates have risen so high that many family practitioners and OB-GYNs are being forced to retire early or simply go out of business. Doctors are refusing to deliver babies or perform surgery because they are afraid of being sued. That is especially a problem in our rural communities, where many doctors are sole practitioners.


http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r109:2:./temp/~r109sfwR8o:e32920:

<snip>


I have also talked today about the threats we face to our future right here at home, through FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, what we can do to address that. Just today we found out that McDonald's is yet again going to court to defend itself from the claims of a family who ate too much McDonald's food and now wants to blame the restaurant.

We also heard from my colleague today from North Carolina, also talking about the threat of FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS and the threat that we may lose doctors in our most underserved communities.

We also talked about the threat to that most important property right in America, the right to own one's home, posed by a recent IRS ruling.

And finally, not to trivialize it, but finally the threat being faced by those communities who may not have access to Louisiana's fine seafood.

[Fenris]

1. An elected Dinesh D'Souza.

[President Jesus]

2. Epitome of 'frivilous lawsuit' filed by Bush supporter Don King

$2.5 billion against ESPN

see: Don King's $2000 donation to BushCo

[TOOLZ]

3. Only thing that pisses me off more than FRIVILOUS LAWSUITS...

ACTIVIST JUDGES.

Just make the opinionated adjective the fact.