Day on Torts
According to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the Chamber of Commerce is going to start running short films before feature films in movie theaters in the Washington, D.C,area. The films "tell a story of supposed “Lawsuit Abuse” — cases in which people were allegedly dragged into the legal system with the filing of a frivolous lawsuit."
From the blog: “’Lawsuit abuse and the harm it brings to everyday Americans and small businesses is one of the great American tragedies,’” says Lisa Rickard, the president of the Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, formerly of Akin, Gump. "’That’s why the silver screen is the perfect venue for these Faces of Lawsuit Abuse short films.’”
After a one month run in DC, the Chamber is going to take the films to select theaters elsewhere in the country.
Watch the four films here.
These films demonstrate that the Chamber is so concerned about the adverse image of the business community in this economy that it feels compelled to engage in jury tampering in local theaters. Lawyers and consumers who care about the civil justice system should vote with their feet and refuse to attend movies in theaters where the short films are played. How do you know if the ads will be played in your favorite theater? Call and ask, and if you you find out the films will be shown, tell them you won’t attend and why.
The Chamber has the legal right to produce these ads. Theaters have a legal right to accept money to show them. And we have a legal right to withhold our money from theaters that choose to show propaganda.