April 21, 2003
Fast-Food Lawsuits 'Subvert The Democratic Process'
Don't take our word for it. That's how U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put it in an April 10 seminar sponsored by the Free Congress Foundation. McConnell decried obesity-oriented lawsuits recently brought against fast-food chains, saying that "they promote a culture of victimhood and jettison the principle of personal responsibility." He also insisted that there's something wrong with "a state court setting national culinary policy."
Touting his "Class Action Fairness Act," McConnell said that Americans should back his fight against "regulation through litigation." Congressman Ric Keller (R-FL) has also introduced a bill that would specifically prohibit obesity suits against restaurant companies and food producers.
In his speech, McConnell likened fast-food lawsuits to asbestos litigation, saying that "between 60 and 70 percent of all the money" in those cases "goes to the lawyers."
Regarding the now-famous Caesar Barber case against McDonald's, he noted that the plaintiff's attorneys left the damages "unspecified":
Given the horror stories we've heard of plaintiffs getting the short end of the stick in class action cases, the plaintiffs better hope that class action reform gets enacted before their case is resolved, lest their lawyer bank all the cash, while they're stuck with a coupon for one of those French fry boxes, as the result of a 'drive-by' -- or should I say, 'drive-through' -- settlement.
