Oh, the Irony! Getting Borked

Jeez, I swear you can't make this shit up. Former US Solicitor-General, Supreme Court nominee, Nixon triggerman and all-around rightwing asshole Robert Bork, a longtime champion of so-called "tort reform" has sued the Yale Club for inujuries he alleged suffered while climbing a set of steps to a dais where he was scheduled to speak.

Yep, the same Robert Bork who has campaigned so loudly for reform of our litigious society, who has called for an end to punitive damages, is suing for ... wait for it ... punitive damages.

Check out the analysis over at Tort Deform. Those guys have done a great job of putting Bork's lawsuit into perspective:

A 79 year old man tripped while trying to step onto a foot-high platform. He fell and hit his head and leg, but was able to give a speech and leave on his own. He has minor surgery and some physical therapy. A year after his injury, he sues the restaurant where he fell for over $1 million dollars plus punitive damages.

What reaction do you think most "reformers" would have to such a case? There's no need to speculate. Instead, let's look at the fact pattern from another famous case:

A 79 year old woman spilled hot coffee on herself while trying to put cream in it. She suffered third degree burns and needed surgery and months of physical therapy. Over a year after her injury, she sued the restaurant who served her the coffee and asks for punitive damages.

And thus did poor Mrs. Stella Liebeck and her now-infamous McDonald's Hot Coffee case become the unwilling poster child for tort reform.

So, bottom line, I guess it all depends on who's doin' the suin'...

Like I say, you can't make this shit up.