When I was about 20, I finished summer with a ~1,000-mile motorcycle road trip back to college in Washington.
As I fueled up my motorcycle in Vegas, I noticed the gas meter was spinning faster than my college-sized budget expected. The price at the pump was MUCH higher than the advertised price on the street. (paying with cash, this was in the “pump first, pay later” days…)
After filling my paltry 3-gallon tank, I went inside and paid the *correct* amount…I firmly told the proprietor that I would “only pay the price advertised, not the inflated price on the pump“. That's when things got out of control. He started yelling in my direction in some foreign language laced with English curse words, reached behind the counter, and pulled out a long rusty tire iron as he lunged around the counter towards me, raising his tire iron & spewing more foul language. Needless to say, we played duck-duck-goose around the gas station…. I was faster than he was. Police came promptly. What a day. LMAO. The things I do in the name of “justice”… (or stupidity… your call!)
As it relates to this story, historically, our law firm refused ALL plaintiff’s class action cases. We only *defended* class actions, with several post-certification cases we were proud of. However, we began taking Plaintiff’s cases a few years ago. Why? The answer is simple, bad actors often hide behind their corporate shield, spewing injustice to the public at large. While I do believe in “warnings”, without changed behavior, I firmly enjoy seeing the system hand bad actors a lesson. Rusty tire irons, raised voices and force have their place, but not as often in what is (generally) a civilized society. When I think of litigation, I see “General Deterrence” to others considering similar malfeasance, “Specific Deterrence” to the bad actor(s), and “Retribution” for the victims. A trifecta of improvement.
As I write this, I have goosebumps thinking about various cases we either defend or prosecute. Our team enjoys the sport of legal “duck-duck-goose”. Long live the justice, sport, and equalizer we call “Litigation”.
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