Not in all cases you wouldn't. Ideally we'd like the prices to go way up for these kinds of extortionists while remaining low for individuals who were actually wronged by a large corporation.
Average joe doesn't have the same privileges as large corporations now.
In a corp vs average joe case, there's a huge inequality, where one of them faces bankruptcy and has to pay a way larger share of his income to sustain litigation, while corporations basically face no punishment (even large fines don't deter them).
Edit: in this case, over ONE MILLION dollars in costs for the lawsuit (and it doesn't sound like a big lawsuit). That's ridiculous.
Civil law / inquisitorial lawsuits are significantly cheaper, and legal costs are way cheaper outside the U.S.
The U.S. has the most lawyers in the world (it used to have more lawyers than the rest of the world COMBINED), the most expensive legal system, and the most lawsuits in the world. There are significant movements (including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) for legal reform, and several studies stating those facts:
The average cost per lawsuit in the European Union (in legal fees, etc) is 3.000 euros (Madrid Mediators Association figure). A "standard" lawsuit costs about 10.000 euros (an example for suing a doctor for malpractice).
For comparison, in the U.S., "Ongoing expenses to prepare and mount a medical malpractice case average around $20,000 -$50,000, but in complicated situations it can be $50,000 -$100,000 "
Well you're a telling me that is very very expensive in the US and it's very expensive in europe.
Who can afford to potentially lost 10.000euros in a lawsuit ?
And in this thread we are talking about average Joe fighting against expert/rich companies.
Even if average Joe win the first time, the rich company can do another lawsuit right after and do it again and again until average Joe give up.
It's actually what happened to a friend. They don't care they just put you personal bankrupt.
And even if it's not the money, it's a lot of stress and shit like this.
Yes, it's as you say, just a degree between "very very" expensive and "very" expensive - though at least there's the option of some free help in Spain and other countries.
I agree that big companies can do another lawsuit, and the stress and related complications is a huge factor as well :( .
I want legal reform for my country for different reasons (here lawsuits are a lot cheaper but stretch for a lifetime), but the U.S. seems to need a lot of reform as well.
