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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
The etymology is interesting: From AHD:
champerty
SYLLABICATION: cham·per·ty
PRONUNCIATION: chmpr-t
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. cham·per·ties
A sharing in the proceeds of a lawsuit by an outside party who has promoted the litigation.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English champartie, from Old French champart, the lord's share of the tenant's crop, from Medieval Latin campars, camppars : Latin camp, genitive of campus, field + Latin pars, part; see part.
OTHER FORMS: champer·tous (-ts) —ADJECTIVE
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
the lord's share of the tenant's crop
Completely unrelated to faldage.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
A sharing in the proceeds of a lawsuit by an outside party who has promoted the litigation. Kind of a low thing to do, in my opinion.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624 |
The outside party may have put up the money to bring the law suit.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
just another form of investment, eh?
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Yeah, it's that "sharing in the proceeds" that makes it low, IMO. If somebody lacked the funds to file a justifiable suit, I wouldn't mind donating money if I were able. But I can't imagine filing a lawsuit strictly for personal gain.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I have a suspicion that the "product liability" lawsuits
which destroyed the small aircraft manufacturers represents
a way in which champerty can be against the public interest.
A man I knew of was drinking with some friends close to midnight when a girl said she had never flown at night. So he gallantly offered to give her a flight immediately. The
plane crashed killing all aboard. The widow was solicited
to sue the aircraft manufacturer, and did so, just because
she needed money so badly. I don't think she got any money,
but the aircraft manufacturer got stuck with cost of defense
of a suit that should not have been allowed, because it was
so clear that the pilot had been intoxicated.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 9 |
Let's remember that, strictly speaking, it's champerty that brings the courts to the little guy. Think about the typical car accident victim - you can be sure, most of the time, that his attorney is being paid on a contingency basis. In other words, the attorney doesn't get paid unless the plaintiff gets an award at trial. The attorney takes a big chance that she won't get paid for her time and effort, and the plaintiff/victim gets a shot at compensation without taking the big financial risk of losing. This is also beneficial to the system - a contingency fee attorney won't take a case unless it's a pretty strong one, because it otherwise wouldn't be worth the almost certain financial loss.
dsw
DSW
DSW
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