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Stuart, Florida's Got Nuts (and Acorns)
Today in the very local newspaper (Rachel, I'm sure this makes the MU Student News look like the Washington Post), there was a blurb about an old man who (I couldn't make this up even if I tried) tripped over an acorn and was wondering who to sue.
This is exactly the reaction I'd expect in a town where you can't watch TV for more than 5 minutes without seeing shady lawyers practically begging you to get hurt so they can defend you in court. As bad as it is in St. Louis with the famous Pirate Eyepatch Lawyer, it is ten times as bad here where there are many old people who actually do get hurt very frequently.
At some point the courts need to strongly define "negligence", which is the only way you should be able to sue if you get hurt. Here's one possible definition: homeowners should only be liable for things they could and should have reasonably prevented. Skateboard in the street, for example, is something that could and should have been prevented. Acorns from a tree, on the other hand, is not.
Should the person constantly stand under the tree and wait for an acorn to fall so they can pick it up and throw it away? Should they surround the tree with caution tape and big signs that say "Caution: Acorns"? No. There is no reasonable way (besides the person who fell down actually looking where they're walking) to prevent this.
I hope this person wastes thousands of dollars taking this case to court, and then I hope they lose. Or at least I hope that the judge yells at them and throws the case out, a la Judge Judy.
Comments
When determining negligence, a judge will often instruct a jury to determine whether a defendant "knew or should have known" that X action could lead to Y...in this case, that acorns would lead to an old man making a fool of himself.
I imagine this'll get tossed out, because there's no way you can predict stupidity and clumsiness coming together in your front yard.
Posted by: Brian at January 11, 2004 9:14 PM
I don't know, in South Florida you can come pretty close to predicting just that.
Posted by: Chris Hill Festival at January 11, 2004 9:33 PM
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