Real Kato Blog: Liability

Would you like fries with that?

Right now, Congress is voting to prohibit lawsuits that claim fast food restaurants are responsible for people's obesity. They're also voting to prohibit lawsuits against the gun industry for causing gun-related deaths.

Let me make a couple of things clear. First, I recognize the harm that both guns and fast food are doing to our country, and I'm definitely in favor of curbing that harm. Second, I recognize that the current legislation is actually probably an attempt by Republicans to effect a long-term reduction in the power of trial attorneys in this country. But even with that, I have to say, I'm not entirely against the proposed legislation. Call me a bad Democrat, but this is definitely not a black-and-white issue for me. I'm very much ambivalent about it.

Let me present some arguments on both sides.

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The Pro-Industry Argument

To my knowledge (IANAL), we do not have laws that hold corporations responsible when legal products are knowingly used in a harmful manner. We do not hold auto manufacturers responsible for drunk drivers who kill people; for that matter, we don't put liability on manufacturers of alcoholic beverages either. Manufacturers of kitchen knives and baseball bats are not held responsible when those items are used as weapons. Why should we single out the gun industry for litigation? (No fair comparing guns to, say, weapons of mass destruction; remember, guns are legal in this country.)

Similarly, why should we single out the fast-food industry, as compared to Golden Corral, or the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet around the corner? The answer is probably the fact that the gun industry and the fast food industry are wealthy and politically unpopular targets, ripe for plucking in front of an impressionable jury. Is that the way we want to practice law and government in this country? By conducting a propaganda war?

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The Pro-Consumer Argument

If we really believe in the rightness of gun manufacturers and fast-food purveyors, then we should have nothing to fear from legislation. People suing? Everyone should be entitled to their day in court. We have not established sufficient precedent concerning manufacturer liability in these cases; why not let due process take its course, instead of stifling potential victims before they can even speak up?

Perhaps the industry is not to blame. But that's not to say we should pass heavy-handed legislation that prevents anyone from even questioning them. What if we'd shielded the tobacco companies thirty years ago? Now that we've found that they deliberately hid information about the harmful effects of their products, wouldn't we regret having a shield law protecting them?

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It's a tough one. If you're an idealist, you might believe that corporations never set out to be deliberately evil. But then again, you might also believe that people only file lawsuits when they are legitimately wronged. In reality, neither idea is true. So it comes down to this: how is the public interest better served? Which is the greater problem in this country: frivolous lawsuits by greedy individuals seeking to avoid personal responsibility, or the machinations of greedy corporations looking to profit from people's misery at any cost? I don't know.

But with this legislation, I feel like we're just masking the real problems in this country. Why do people eat fast food to begin with? Why do people feel the need to own guns? There are underlying societal issues here, and maybe we should be tackling those issues instead of just jumping on a hot political bandwagon.

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: politics

Comments

Comment #1 from Noelle (Guest)
2005 Oct 21 - 11:04 am : #

People eat fast food because it's cheap. We are most likely the only place on earth where the poverty stricken are fat. People like to shoot guns. Even I like to shoot guns. Done in a safe, regulated and target competative enviornment it's a legit sport. Frankly I don't understand why anyone would want to own a video game player - But I don't wonder why other's feel the need to own one.

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