The stereotype of the overly litigious American, poised to call a lawyer at the first splash of hot coffee from a poorly sealed cup, can be overplayed. But the tale of the Californian who tried to sue himself is probably not going to help matters.
Curtis Gokey was understandably furious when a lorry belonging to the city of Lodi, California, backed into his pickup truck last month, causing damage estimated at $3 600 — although he was the one driving the lorry. Gokey, a 51-year-old employee of the local public works department, filed a lawsuit demanding that the city pay for the repairs.
”Some things are just ridiculous,” said Steve Schwabauer, an attorney for the Lodi authorities, who refused to consider the claim.
”This is just one of those things where you go, no, the citizens of Lodi are not going to pay for his error,” he told the San Joaquin Record.
Gokey’s wife filed another lawsuit but Schwabauer predicted that claim would fail too, as married couples in California count as a single entity except in divorce cases.
Elsewhere in the US, class-action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of readers of James Frey’s memoir A Million Little Pieces, whose author admitted much of the memoir might not be literally accurate. Lawyers claim that readers deserve damages for their wasted time. – Guardian Unlimited Â