Litigation and the Redistribution of Wealth Litigation and the Redistribution of Wealth In New York City, the personal injury lawyers were soaking the city's insurers for so much money for accidents attributable to potholes in the city's streets, that the city council passed an ordinance absolving the city of liability unless it had ten days' prior notice of the existence of the pothole. They photograph them and put the city on notice, maximizing the chances that when Jane or John Doe steps in a pothole, or runs their car over one, the case will not be barred by the ordinance. Its a pretty funny story, but it highlights a phenomenon worthy of serious attention.
Litigation is a system designed to handle the one-off case.
Jones sues Smith. Jones has never sued Smith or anyone before, and Smith has never been sued before. They cannot amicably resolve their differences, and a judge must navigate them either to a settlement or a verdict. It makes sense as a system. When the Big Apple adopted the pothole ordinance, it used a bureaucratic approach to shield itself from liability.