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Article published Aug 31, 2004
Cheeseburger bills: The answer is better perspective, not additional
laws
It's fortunate that states are willing to protect
businesses from foolish lawsuits, but it's a shame that they feel they have to.A
dozen states have already passed laws that prohibit people from suing food
manufacturers or restaurants for their own obesity or health complications
brought on by obesity. Many more states are moving forward on similar
legislation, known as "cheeseburger bills."The states are justified in passing
these bills. Lawyers have already tried to sue McDonald's on behalf of obese
teenagers. And lawyers' groups have held seminars on how to make such suits
successful.So lawmakers have little choice but to pre-empt this foolishness with
legislation.They had to do the same thing to combat the lawsuits cities were
filing against firearms manufacturers. The cities said they were trying to
recover the costs of violence, but the lure was, as always, getting hold of
someone else's money. A secondary goal of that legislation was to accomplish in
court the gun-control regulations activists had been unable to pass in
Congress.It's likely that these lawyers will next target breweries and
distilleries, suing them for the cost of drunken driving or alcoholism. Then
state legislatures will be forced to pass more laws.It would be better if courts
simply recognized the concept of personal responsibility and held to it.But that
concept was undermined by many of the tobacco suits. Plaintiffs and the courts
ignored the responsibility smokers had for their own health. Then these lawyers
looked for another target from which to make more millions. They turned their
artillery on gun makers and then on fast-food restaurants.They should be
stopped. Claims that ignore the responsibility of individuals for their own
health and condition should be thrown out of court. The lawyers who bring them
should face sanctions for abusing the legal system and should be required to
reimburse the companies they have sued for the cost of defending the
suit.Attorneys' groups should push to restore sense to the process and end the
defamation of their profession.It's inefficient for state legislatures to have
to pass specific laws to counteract every legal get-rich-quick scheme. The
courts should be made to enforce the concept of personal responsibility.