"Hot Coffee" Film Explores How Corporations Spend Millions to Alter the U.S. Civil Justice System

[democracy1st]

Run time: 03:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGPU3GRWAYQ   Posted on YouTube: January 25, 2011 By YouTube Member: mediagrrl9 Views on YouTube: 298   Posted on DU: January 26, 2011 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 861

 
"Hot Coffee," a new documentary that premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival, looks at the stories of four people whose lives were devastated when they were denied access to the courtroom after being injured. The film documents how corporations have spent millions to promote the case for tort reform. Democracy Now! interviews the film's director Susan Saladoff.

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[ejpoeta]

1. wow that is frightening. voluntarily giving up their right to the court system.

i can tell how bs arbitration is when my brother in law got fired from his job after he requested a separate area to do his job away from his coworkers who were harrassing him. he has add and he was also sexually harrassed which was not in his complaint. he went into arbitration with a lawyer that sure as hell seemed like he was on the side of the other side and everyone in there basically ganged up on him and made inappropriate comments towards tom. he felt like there was nothing he could do. it can make someone feel helpless that's for sure. and i bet that is the whole point

[Gato Moteado]

2. she talks about jamie leigh jones....

....but doesn't give any details of why.

in case you've forgotten who jamie leigh jones is, look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Leigh_Jones

[molly77]

3. MSM presented this story like it was a money grab.

Who knew the cup melted and the elderly woman never regained her strength. AND that the family wanted to settle initially for medical expenses. McDonalds wouldn't.Democracy Now online had the story yesterday. You can watch old episodes up to about a week. Danny Glover was on yesterday with a great clip of Angela Davis when she was very young.

[tclambert]

5. This is where they wanted to send a gang rape case to an arbitrator.

Contractors in Iraq have some immunity from the Iraqi criminal justice system, it didn't happen on American soil, Halliburton security forces took possession of all the evidence and some of it disappeared, and Halliburton claimed she couldn't even file a civil suit against them because of the arbitration clause in her contract.

It looks like there will never be any criminal case.

[Overseas]

4. K&R ! Great review on Democracy Now yesterday.

Sounds like a great documentary.