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Editorial
January 27, 1912
The West Virginia News
Ronceverte, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
The editorial criticizes the American obsession with litigation as a costly folly, particularly in rural areas where lawsuits measure status. It cites an example of an estate valued at $1,000,000 reduced to $23,000 after years of disputes among claimants.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
WASTE IN LITIGATION.
If one were asked to name the costliest folly known in this country, he would not be far from the mark if he should say it was the American craze for litigation. In some communities, especially the small ones in rural districts, a man's importance seems to be measured by the number of law suits he has on hand, and he who has none is often regarded as a person of small consequence.
But the habit of going to law is not confined to small neighborhoods nor to persons of trifling affairs, as a single instance will show. There is now in process of settlement in a neighboring state the estate of a man which at the time of his death was valued at $1,000,000. Rival claimants to the property engaged in litigation, which has extended over a period of several years, and now, as the end approaches, it is said the estate has dwindled to about $23,000.
Manifestly the parties to this litigation have made a heavy investment in experience, but, unhappily for them, it is not what financiers call a 'liquid asset.'
If one were asked to name the costliest folly known in this country, he would not be far from the mark if he should say it was the American craze for litigation. In some communities, especially the small ones in rural districts, a man's importance seems to be measured by the number of law suits he has on hand, and he who has none is often regarded as a person of small consequence.
But the habit of going to law is not confined to small neighborhoods nor to persons of trifling affairs, as a single instance will show. There is now in process of settlement in a neighboring state the estate of a man which at the time of his death was valued at $1,000,000. Rival claimants to the property engaged in litigation, which has extended over a period of several years, and now, as the end approaches, it is said the estate has dwindled to about $23,000.
Manifestly the parties to this litigation have made a heavy investment in experience, but, unhappily for them, it is not what financiers call a 'liquid asset.'
What sub-type of article is it?
Legal Reform
What keywords are associated?
Litigation Waste
Lawsuit Craze
Legal Costs
Estate Disputes
American Folly
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Waste In Litigation
Stance / Tone
Critical Of Excessive Lawsuits
Key Arguments
Litigation Is The Costliest Folly In America
In Rural Areas, Lawsuits Measure A Man's Importance
Habit Of Litigation Affects All Levels Of Society
Example: Estate Reduced From $1,000,000 To $23,000 Due To Prolonged Disputes
Litigation Yields Non Liquid Experience, Not Financial Gain