Friday - March 09, 2007

Hell Freezes Over:  Local Court Declares Lawsuit Frivolous

 Or Trial Lawyers Everywhere Crying in their Beer

Satan was truly shocked to find that a Cincinnati court declared a lawsuit frivolous.  That in of itself made Hell freeze over.  But to add insult to injury, the court fined the man who brought the action.   Hell dropped another 5 degrees when that part of the ruling was read.

What’s the price of a good night’s sleep?

Try $2,500.

That’s what 1st District Court of Appeals judges charged Thomas Starks for filing a frivolous lawsuit against Econo Lodge and its parent company, Choice Hotels International, after Econo Lodge charged him for an extra day’s stay for checking out late.

Starks had checked in at 4:40 a.m. and argued he should not have had to meet the 11 a.m. checkout time.

“While the court system must remain open for the redress of a citizen’s perceived injustices, there is a point at which even the most liberal interpretation of personal rights fails in the light of common sense,” wrote Judge Sylvia Sieve Hendon in a concurring opinion.

In the 2006 lawsuit, Starks, 64, of Golf Manor, sought the return of $46 for the extra day’s stay at the Kingston Springs, Tenn. motel, damages of $750,000 and free lodging for life at the Econo Lodge.

Hendon and judges Mark Painter and Lee H. Hildebrandt in a unanimous decision determined Starks sued the wrong people, in the wrong place for the wrong reason. He should have sued in Tennessee, not Hamilton County.

“A morning checkout time is standard,” Painter wrote. “Perhaps Starks is nocturnal.

“Some walk by night, some fly by day,” Painter added quoting Al Jarreau in the theme song to the 1980’s detective show “Moonlighting.”

“But most people are diurnal,” Painter wrote. “It is patently unreasonable that anyone would think there is not a checkout time. After the checkout time has passed, the guest becomes a trespasser.”

The court said Starks must pay the motel and its parent company $1,250 each for their trouble in defending the lawsuit.

Trackposted to Blue Star Chronicles, The Amboy Times, Faultline USA, , and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.