Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The Sound of Silence


The silence from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their front group, the Illinois Civil Justice League is deafening.

They often complain that our courts are clogged by frivolous lawsuits.

They often say these lawsuits are nothing more than an attempt to shake down deep-pocketed defendants.

They like to argue that these massive, multi-million dollar lawsuits are imposing a tax on every working family.

Then comes this case:

Lawsuit against Splenda settled

The makers of Splenda and Equal on Friday settled a lawsuit over Splenda's disputed advertising slogan -- "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar."

The settlement came right after the jury in Philadelphia announced it had reached a verdict.

Chicago-based Merisant Co., which makes Equal, accused Splenda of confusing consumers into thinking its product was healthier and more natural than other artificial sweeteners. Splenda's marketer, McNeil Nutritionals, countered that it simply has a better product backed by superior advertising.

A McNeil spokeswoman said the amount of the settlement wouldn't be announced.

Merisant was seeking more than $200 million from McNeil -- at least $183 million for unfair profits since 2003 and compensation for at least $25 million in lost sales.

The active ingredient in Splenda starts as pure cane sugar but is chemically altered to create a compound that contains no calories, according to McNeil. The final product contains no sugar.

That’s right. Splenda is made from sugar. And no one is disputing that it tastes like sugar (as a user of Splenda, I can tell you it tastes alot more like sugar than Equal, which tastes like the rancid extract of dirty sweat socks to me).

But Equal didn’t like the fact that they were getting their butt kicked in the free market, with Splenda cornering 60% of the artificial sweetener market in just a few short years, so the makers of Equal filed a $208 million lawsuit.

Now, Splenda is also being sued by sugar makers.

To me, this case seems to fit the definition of a frivilous lawsuit. And the infamous McDonald's case is dwarfed by this $208 million lawsuit.

Where’s the t.v. ads and press releases from the Illinois Civil Justice League blasting corporate America for filing frivolous lawsuits? Where’s the think tank study showing how Equal’s frivolous lawsuit is driving up the cost of Splenda – now found in over 4,000 consumer products – for hard working families?

Meanwhile, the ICJL is running t.v. ads about how many lawsuits are filed in Illinois each year. I wonder how many of those lawsuits are by businesses suing each other, just like this case?

11 comments:

Anonymous,  8:11 PM  

The settlement came right after the jury in Philadelphia announced it had reached a verdict.

Looks like Yellow Dog isn't very hip on geography. Philadelphia wouldn't seem very close to Illinois. Maybe that's why we haven't seen a press release. For the same reason we don't see bloggers here writing about Pennsylvania legislation.

Another lame attack on the ICJL by YDD. Yellow Dog sticks his back paw in his mouth again!

Bill Baar 8:09 AM  

Pretend this is in Illinois.

I don't think lawsuits between corporations quite fit the issue.

It's small business that drives the liability issue. Those owners live in fear of lawsuits.

It's stories like that judge in DC suing the laudry for losing his pants that convince people the system needs a few tweaks... maybe some major tweaks.

JBP 9:56 AM  

Frivolous is frivolous, regardless of the size of the company. This Spenda Lawsuit is ridiculous, and should be exposed as a tax paid to the trial lawyers for the privilege of doing business.

JBP

Bill Baar 12:23 PM  

right JB, but if it's two big corps in a dispute, ... let the lawyers get rich.

It's the costs of litigation that drive out the start ups we need to create jobs and wealth.

I figure the big guys should be smart enough to avoid this stuff, and if not... well... a start up should replace them.

Yellow Dog Democrat 4:52 PM  

Anonymous - The lawsuit was filed by a Chicago company, and the U.S. Chamber has had plenty to say about Madison County, Illinois. Are you suggesting they can't find Philly on the map?

JB Powers -- I think you missed the point. There were no trial lawyers involved in the Splenda case. This is two coporations suing each other, using their own corporate counsel.

Bill -- you have a great point. Small businesses live in perpetual fear of lawsuits, but the lawsuits they fear the most are from big corporate competitors, because big corporations have armies of lawyers on hand at all times that they are paying a retainer anyway, and they have the resources for protracted legal battles. They call these "SLAP" lawsuits.

Anonymous,  5:01 PM  

YDD explained to Bill Baar: "Small businesses live in perpetual fear of lawsuits, but the lawsuits they fear the most are from big corporate competitors, because big corporations have armies of lawyers on hand at all times that they are paying a retainer anyway, and they have the resources for protracted legal battles. They call these "SLAP" lawsuits."

...A perfect example would be the owners of Wee-Dee's -- an independently owned fast food joint in DuPage County. They were sued by General Mills (maker of "Wheaties") because the name of their li'l ol' restaurant sounded too similar to the name of the wheat-based flakes.

General Mills lost, IIRC, but not before Wee-Dee's spent a mint defending itself. (But then again, outfits like the US Chamber of Commerce aren't actually there to help the little guys...)

Anonymous,  6:41 PM  

Bill makes a great point about small businesses living in fear. But shouldn't we all be living in fear?

Check out this story from today in Madison County, even the politeness of holding the door for another other is now actionable:

Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron awarded Amanda Verett a $311,700 default judgment for injuries she allegedly received while holding a Pizza Hut door open for a Troy police officer.

Verett, a family attorney in Edwardsville, filed suit against Pizza Hut and Clarence Jackson alleging she was injured when walking out the door of Pizza Hut on Feb. 12, when she held open the door to allow herself and Jackson to exit.

She claimed Jackson grabbed the door in such a fashion that it caused the door to suddenly and sharply move and injured her right shoulder.

But the door exchange wasn't even the full nature of her injuries:

Verett claimed that due to the injury she suffered at Pizza Hut, she was unable to avoid falling on a later date and tore tendons and suffered injuries to her left hand and wrist, including a partial tear of the pronator quadratus muscle at the dorsum.

Guess what former Supreme Court candidate's son is the plaintiffs attorney in the case:

Verett's attorney, Tom Maag of Edwardsville, filed the motion for default judgment alleging Jackson was served on March 8, and failed to answer the complaint in 30 days as allowed by Illinois law.

And the treating "doctor" for the plaintiff has his own history in Madison County courts, as the Lakin Law Firm's best class action client:

"She claimed that several days later, the shoulder began to hurt worse; she sought treatment from Granite City chiropractor Dr. Mark Eavenson. Eavenson is best-known as the most prolific filer of class action lawsuits in Madison County.

This case will make you think twice before making the neighborly exchange of door-holding the next time you enter a restaurant.

As an aside, the Judge in this case just received an award from Citizen Action of Illinois and USAction for his work "to ensure justice in cases involving injury from asbestos and tobacco." ITLA President Judy Cates is rumored to have presented him with the award.

You gotta love this quote from Citizen Action of Illinois's Linda DeLaforgue:

"As we all know, there has been a lot of controversy (in the courts), particularly in Southern Illinois," she said by phone. "He takes very seriously his role in promoting civil justice."

Bill Baar 6:45 PM  

Bill makes a great point about small businesses living in fear. But shouldn't we all be living in fear?

Only if you have something to lose.

JBP 8:56 PM  

YDD,

Yes, you are quite correct. I am in error. It is an abusive use of the courts, but no blame should be assigned to the Trial Lawyers for this one, the legal system in general, perhaps, but not one specific player in the system.

JBP

Yellow Dog Democrat 2:07 AM  

Anon 6:41 -

If you're going to cite the "Madison Record," as your source, you might as well be quoting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce itself.

Anonymous,  8:16 AM  

YDD-

This Pizza Hut story seems to just be a rehash of the public record on the case, probably all from documents available in the Madison County Circuit Clerk's office.

The Madison County Record - regardless of their affiliations - doesn't makes this stuff up.

Stories like the one above may look like fiction, but they are truly a reflection on what's happening, almost in obscurity, in our Illinois courts.

Yes, it is sad, but it's unfortunately true.

And what business does a sitting judge have in taking an award from an extremely liberal interest group that has an agenda of supporting big asbestos awards? Think of what many would be saying on this blog if a judge accepted a lifetime award from the NRA or Citizens for Life.

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