On 4/16/2011 5:04 PM, Evan wrote:
On Apr 16, 9:03 am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I'd have been tempted to go break some glass on the lawyer's
office, trip and fall, and then sue for damages.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


wrote in ...

Unfortunately there are lawyers.

My friend also a "gentleman farmer" got tired of his mailbox
being destroyed so he erected a more substantial version.
Some kids got hurt while damaging the personal property
of others and some lawyer with his picture on billboards
rushed to their aid and sued my friend. His homeowners
insurance paid out ~ $100,000.

Ah, but you see Stormin, the glass you would have broken
was not designed and installed with the intention to injure
you when you broke it... These redneck reinforced mailboxes
are designed and installed with the specific intent to cause
harm to anyone who vandalizes them after they are installed...

That is an actionable tort... He/his insurers got off easy with
$100,000 worth of payoff, that would be $33,000-ish for the
lawyer and $67,000 left to pay for medical bills... It wasn't
a "lottery-sweepstakes" winning by any means...


Maybe but the kids didn't have to overtly destroy the property of
others. It isn't like the guy dug a pit and covered it up as a trap.
They had to decide to do damage for the sake of doing damage. If they
didn't they would not have incurred injuries.

Those "we will help you" lawyers can make a nice living though on those
sort of cases because typically they never get to a courtroom. Someone
from the lawyers staff finds out how what pockets are involved and how
deep they are and in the case of insurance companies reviews what
insurers typically pay without putting up a fuss.



People who are bat-**** crazy about protecting their mailboxes
from being batted away by passing carloads of vandals should
locate those mailboxes far enough away from the side of the
road so that they can not be reached with a baseball bat out
of a vehicle's window -- problem solved...

But then how would they get mail delivered to their *mailbox*? The
postoffice prescribes the location requirements which essentially
describe that someone in a vehicle needs to be able to deliver the mail
without leaving the vehicle. How would you propose the mailbox be
installed so the mail could be delivered as described without it being
accessible to someone in a vehicle intending to destroy the property of
others for fun?


~~ Evan