"Frivolous" Lawsuits Are Good For America

The national news media reported last week on a lawsuit filed by a kidnapper against his victims claiming that they breached an oral contract to hide him from police. (A tip of the hat to ALSB member Marsha Hass for sharing the report). Predictably, bloggers and commentators have added this example to their rhetoric of a "justice system out of control" and "costing taxpayers money" and etc.

In this post, I advocate that this story, rather than supporting the notion of an out of control civil justice system,  is best understood as an example of a legal system working exactly as it should for the greater benefit of society.