Once upon a time a guy was living in a house. One day it starts to rain, the area is flooded, and he prays: Lord, help me. Soon a canoe comes by but the guy says no, the Lord will help him. Soon the water is up the stairs and the guy prays: Lord, please help me! A while later a motor boat pulls up and, again, the guy rejects the help saying the Lord will help him. Later still, the water pushes the guy to the roof and, again, he prays, Lord, please help!!! Soon, a helicopter pulls up but, again, the guy refuses saying the Lord will help him. Soon the guy drowns and up to the pearly gates he goes. Finding the Lord, he asks, "Why didn't you help me in the flood?" The Lord says, What do you mean? I sent you canoe, a motor boat, and a helicopter - what more did you want?!Sad thing is that there are many people in litigation-land who are just like this drowning guy and no amount of persuasion will dissuade them from charging ahead. They file a lawsuit in a civil trial court, and lose. They file a motion for reconsideration, and lose. They file an appeal, and lose. They file an appeal to the state supreme court, and lose. Then they file a request to be heard in the United States Supreme Court and are denied a hearing...and for the rest of their lives they are madder than a wet hen because they never figured out the central problem with their case - they didn't have one.
That's right - they never had a case to begin with. They might have been slighted, miffed, or shorted and thought they had a lawsuit - but just because you're angry with the world doesn't mean your anger translates into a lawsuit. If you know someone who has a dead case and they won't listen to anyone, might I suggest you point them to your local county law library and have them look at:
- Making Your Case (West)
- Represent Yourself in Court (Nolo Press)
- How and When to Be Your Own Lawyer (Perigee)
- American Jurisprudence: a modern comprehensive text statement of American law (West)
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