Lawsuit Information Center
A New York municipality will pay $1.6 million in a settlement to a man against the city of Clarence over his paralyzing fear of frogs. The settlement was forced down their throats by his victory at trial years ago. Let’s all take a deep breath.
Plaintiff’s lawsuit alleged a real estate developer diverted runoff water to his property, flooding almost 40 acres of his property and bringing forth hundreds of frogs. Plaintiff’s suit claimed that he had a great fear of frogs to the point where he was a prisoner in this own home.
This is crazy. These runaway juries make everyone settle. The world has gone mad. Let’s take a second deep breath.
How do I know about this man getting all of this money over his fear of frogs? The newspaper told me so. The headline: Clarence man with frog phobia wins $1.6 million verdict. Should I bother to read more?
Maybe I should. Turns out, no one knows if the frog fear had a single thing to do with the verdict. The claim was based on his injuries due to damage to his property.
The media takes these stories, gets idiots like me to click on them and even link back to the article, and paints a picture of a judicial system run amok. But that view is often, as it is here, very divorced from reality.