Re:As Qualified Immunity Takes Center Stage, More Delay from...
by baddox on Monday June 01, 2020 @02:57PM
(#23382280)
Okay, then why doesn't that happen in analogous non-government situations? Why doesn't every construction company sue a developer every time they don't get given a new contract? Why doesn't every job interviewee sue every company that doesn't hire them? Surely the legal system has some mechanism for dealing with this. I do think there should be some mechanism for short-circuiting preposterous lawsuits, and I think it should be available to everyone.
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Re:As Qualified Immunity Takes Center Stage, More Delay from...
by scott_w on Monday June 01, 2020 @03:19PM
(#23382534)
Not a lawyer but maybe there’s a few possible reasons:
Standing: without a reason that looks remotely viable, a court might just throw it out without requiring a defence.
Risk: big companies have legal departments on hand to make your life hell for even trying.
Reward: smaller companies don’t have enough money to be worth your time to sue. Even if you’re trying to “send a message” the first attempt is so expensive for no gain, it’s not worth your while.
Government departments tend to fall into a bad middle ground. There’s enough money to be worth fighting over but they’re not always fantastically well equipped to defend it (or at least they’re perceived as such).