Lessons in Frivolity

I want to share a little secret with you. Sometimes, I’m not 100% productive at work and will occasionally, ever so briefly, steal moments of frivolity throughout the day. Most of the time I steal little moments to read The Namby Pamby because sometimes its like he can actually read my mind. Or, my boss will forward me an email containing some chain joke and I’ll take a few seconds to read it.  If you were not just born yesterday, it probably doesn’t come as any surprise to you that me, a self-confessed trial lawyer, occasionally engages in frivolous behavior. We hear over and over again in the news media and propaganda for tort reform that my colleagues and I are ruining our country with “frivolous” lawsuits. The U.S. Chamber even has a poll where you can vote for the year’s most ridiculous lawsuit.

What many individuals never hear about though, except perhaps when they call into a law office about their “case” only to learn they do not have one, is that there are numerous safeguards designed to keep these so-called frivolous lawsuits out of the system; and, if they do happen to make it into the system there are procedures to get them kicked out of it. Lets take a look at some of those rules:

1. North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 11: This rules requires that when myself or any other trial lawyer files a lawsuit we have to sign it to verify that  “it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, and that it is not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation.”  If this rule is violated, the Court  ”shall impose upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading, motion, or other paper, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.”

2. North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6): When a lawsuit is filed, a party can invoke this rule when the lawsuit on its face doesn’t state any type of claim that the law allows relief for.  Simply put, it gets the case dismissed because there is no case. This rule is typically invoked in the very early stages of litigation and dismisses the lawsuit before it has a chance to go very far in the process.  

3. North Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 56: Sometimes, parties need to engage in discovery before it becomes apparent that a lawsuit that was once believed to have merit really has none after all. When, after both parties engage in discovery and investigation is more or less complete, it seems clear that one side is destined to prevail at trial because all the facts support their position on one or more issues, the Court will grant relief under this rule and dismiss the case or find in favor of that party on an issue that does not need to be determined by a jury.

This is not an exhaustive list of the procedures that can dismiss frivolous lawsuits before a jury ever gets the case to deliberate. This is a list, however, of the three most common safeguards that exist in the law to prevent and get rid of truly frivolous lawsuits before they either begin or get too far. Although you rarely hear about it in the news like you do the filing of the lawsuit itself, these rules are utilized and enforced by the Courts quite frequently.

Disclaimer: The views of the author are his own. This post is not entitled to provide any specific legal advice upon any specific individual. Normally, the author would insert a witty statement or two in this section of the post intended to be humorous and incite an appropriate response from the reader. However, in the spirit of the title of this post the author is now engrossed with Facebook for the next three to four hours as he browses through the profiles and holiday pictures of people he hasn’t seen in almost a decade and barely remembers.