Customer Reviews

Whiplash: America's Most Frivolous Lawsuits

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is one funny book -- both graphically and in the clever way it's written. Cases like the suit against M&M's for not including a peanut in one of their chocolate morsels had me laughing out loud. The book also shows diagrams (tongue in cheek, I hope) on how to create your own frivolous lawsuits. Who ever thinks America is not overlawyered needs only to read the first chapter of "WHIPLAASH!" I bought this after seeing the author featured on the game show "To Tell The Truth." I recommend this book, but don't sue me if you disagree. David Leiter

This book proves that truth is stranger than fiction. Some of this stuff just couldn't be invented. The authors have done an incredible job coming up with examples of bizarre legal claims, almost all of which apparently were either ultimately dismissed or dropped, I might add. I guess our legal system is working just fine, though I doubt that was the point of the book.

I first heard of this book when the author appeared on "Crier Today" on Court TV; an engaging speaker, but his pithy description of one case covered in the book indicated that his accounts of lawsuits might not be quite accurate in all instances.

A humorously recounted tale of a stuporously drunk man trespassing onto rail tracks and electrocuting himself, followed by a lawsuit and a $3 million verdict might give rise to a sense of outrage about a legal system gone wrong. A review of the decision by the Illinois Supreme Court in _Lee v. Chicago Transit Authority,_ 152 Ill.2d 432, 605 N.E.2d 493 (1992) (in which it is clearly stated that the jury acknowledged Mr. Lee's own degree of fault, and reduced the verdict by 50%) might lead to a different conclusion. The verdict was based upon dull things like the CTA's knowledge that the third rail was at street-level, accidents had occurred in the past, and a not-at-all frivolous or terribly innovative application of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Those who want a relatively succinct account of how the _Lee_ case was used (after appropriate distortion of the underlying facts) to rally support for tort reform in Illinois, please see: Stephanie B. Goldberg, "Tough Times for Victims? Tort Reform Is Supposed to End Outrageous Lawsuits, But Its Impact May Be Far Greater Than That," Chicago _TRIBUNE,_ July 30, 1995 (Sunday Magazine).

If you want a quick, undemanding and entertaining read, you might enjoy this book. But don't rely upon it as a reliable citation for what really happened in the courtroom. Frivolous lawsuits are brought every day -- but based upon Percelay's and Deutchman's treatment of the Lee case, they're not always terribly careful about their research. That might be too much to demand from a book such as this.

The author attempts to tell hilarious stories of exceptionally frivolous lawsuits brought in various Courts. I'm certain the stories themselves would in fact have been funny if the author knew how to write humor.

This is Percelay's attempt at humor as he writes about the verdict of a case involving a Little League game:

THE VERDICT, Please....

The judge felt that this case didn't deserve to get to second base........An appeals court agreed that the judge's ruling was SAFE. (emphasis the author's).

This and other un-funny embellishments of otherwise funny stories is about the level of humor that this book offers. Also completely non-hilarious are the scattered jokes about lawyers; I admit to laughing at only one. And trust me, I usually find lawyers' jokes funny.

I cannot begin to imagine what anyone found funny in this supposed humor book. The joke is on me for having spent the money to buy it.

My next humor book is going to be something by Dave Barry, where I am quite certain I can get what I originally wanted from this book: a hearty laugh.

Don't buy this book, I beg you.

This compendium of true but bizarre litigation is amazing and amusing; it grimly reveals how litigation has gotten under the skin of Americans with disastrous but often hilarious results.

Thought you've heard all the best lawyer jokes and examples of frivolous lawsuits? Not until you've read this book! We've all heard about the lawsuit over spilled coffee a million times, but Percelay tells us about others -- like a lawsuit over a spilled milkshake -- that'll leave you laughing out loud. Not only well-written, this book has hillarious graphics that add a lot to the stories. This is a book lawyers AND non-lawyers will find highly amusing.

I thought the book was great! It pokes fun of one of the most hated professions and systems in the world, but not in the traditional humor found in a 2nd grade classroom. The book was well researched and presented in an a engaging, intelligent and well-written manner. For Christams, I'm buying a copy for every lawyer I know! Well done, Mr. Percelay!

This is a hilarious book! These true lawsuits are sick enough to make you cry! A perfect "gag" gift (pun intended) and should be given to every damn law student (and lawyer) in America... maybe after reading it, they'll become podiatrists!

Such utter BS. These folks have been circulating this trash for years. This is just the efforts of big corporations to scare you into giving up your right to jury trial-- the only defense you have against them

The truth is that the corporations these people front for are clogging the courts with dumb lawsuits, not the poor injured people who the courts were designed for.

Don't buy this book. Toss your money in the street instead. Google 'Dumb Corporate Lawsuits' for the real deal on this issue.

This is not a funny book. Even if it were truthful, which it isn't, the humor is poor. I am reminded of Senator Bob Dole's unsuccessful bid for President and his mantra against so-called "frivolous" lawsuits. The case of the spilled McDonald's cup of coffee appeared to fit the bill.

Oops! McDonald's heated the coffee to such a high temperature that the person who spilled it ended up burning her genitalia. Really funny? I don't think so. This plaintiff and her lawyer sued only for medical expenses, but the jury awarded her one million dollars anyway, a classic case of jury nullification and a slap on the wrist for McDonald's, who lost about an hour's worth of coffee sales, sniff, sniff.

This book is stupid and wants its readers to be stupid, too, by finding humor at the expense of the injured and by seducing readers into buying into the anti-trial lawyer myth of "frivolous" lawsuits. Sounds like Republican party propaganda designed to turn helpless consumers against themselves in order to buy special interest votes.

By the way, I am not a lawyer, I like Senator John McCain and other Republicans, and I am sorry someone bought me this book for Christmas.