Iamsemisweet
Posts: 3651
Joined: 4/9/2011
From: The Great Northwest, USA
Status: offline
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Yep, that is the joy of litigation. As long as the employee's cases rises about the frivolous, you probably could employ this strategy. On the other hand, if one of the employees came clean about their motivation, that could lead to a cause of action against you and potential sanctions against the attorney involved. Still, I have seen litigation as a weapon against business competitors more times than I can count.
On the other hand, I read about a case in England where a woman is suing one of the tabloids. She would like to drop her suit, but if she does, she will have to pay the other side's fees, which she can't afford to do. So, a system that discourages settlement also doesn't work.
And yes, people can go on about how their work place is different, and certain types of behavior are acceptable. That is, until you need to lay off people, either for cause or economics. Then, all of a sudden, they have been sexually or otherwise harassed and they are suing you. Like it or not, it is better to run a pretty controlled workplace, with policies prohibiting certain types of behavior. It just isn't worth the risk, but, I hate getting sued and no one but lawyers make money in litigation. Like the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention . . . "
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ORIGINAL: LadyConstanze
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ORIGINAL: Rochsub2009
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ORIGINAL: Iamsemisweet
Lady Constanze,
In the US, unless there is a contractual provision or a statute to the contrary (and there aren't many), each side pays their own attorney fees.
The problem goes beyond this though. The other cost is in lost productivity. Each time I've gone to court, it's cost me at least one complete day of work. Moreover, I've usually had to drag an employee or two in to serve as witnesses, so they also lost a complete day of work. If my employees are testifying instead of working, that costs me money. Pulling 2 employees out of work and bringing them to court to testify is going to cost me a minimum of $1,500 in lost revenue. So even if I win, I still lose.
But since those are costs you encounter, it doesn't make sense that the other party doesn't have to pay for it. So basically if I want to put a competitor out of business, I could just make sure a bunch of his employees sue him, like if I had a family member who happens to be a lawyer and is not busy, I could mess up your business rather cheaply, then take over that business and the increased profit will easily pay for the legal costs...
_____________________________
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
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RE: Do you mess with the vanilla's in your life? - 
lol 
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