Frivolous lawsuits are the worst thing ever. They’ve transformed our legal system and not in a good way. Remember when the lady sued McDonald’s years ago for serving coffee that was too hot? Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. Here’s the deal: you can’t do a frivolous lawsuit without an attorney who is willing to take the case. Many lawyers have become experts at exploiting the law, and they’re often using loopholes to their advantage. However, occasionally, the crooked lawyers get their own kind of justice served to them. This isn’t to say that all attorneys are dishonest, but like any profession, the legal profession has its own bad apples. In the story below, which is probably fictional, you’ll see a perfect example of how being just a little too clever for your own good can go terribly wrong. Enjoy this “instant Karma” story.
A Charlotte, NC, lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things.
Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost “in a series of small fires.”
The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued…and won!
In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable fire, and was obligated to pay the claim.
Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the “fires.”
After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.
