It seemed like a sleazy match from the onset – a Web site that promised to connect litigious clients with trial lawyers looking for jackpot justice. As if they weren't getting together easily enough already!
We reported on its emergence when SueEasy.com first appeared on the Internet, early in 2008. Its founders promised to "simplify the lawsuit process," while legal reformers expressed dismay at an Internet portal clearly designed to increase American litigiousness.
"It's an attitude that runs against personal responsibility and seems to promote the notion that whatever negative happens in your life, somebody else can be blamed and thus sued," said Darren McKinney of the American Tort Reform Association. "It is discouraging to those who would prefer a return to the days when most Americans took responsibility for their lives, including the good and the bad."
SueEasy.com has log-in areas for litigants and lawyers. Would-be litigants are invited to "utilize the power of our state-of-the-art web application to make your voice heard."
Lawyers are urged to "improve your earning potential exponentially by subscribing and advertising to our database of cases. Constantly updated with fresh litigants!"
The site has categories for personal injury, bankruptcy, criminal law, DWI, family law, employment law, class actions and more, with subcategories for each. Personal injury is broken down into animal bites, assault and battery, dangerous and defective products, medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, etc.
The only thing missing, really, is a how-to guide for sustaining an actionable offense, but tips for the crafty can be culled from the postings of would-be plaintiffs in search of representation. Put yourself in a similar situation and you too could have the makings of a profitable lawsuit.
But, alas, Americans – litigious though they may be – apparently are not ready to support the services of SueEasy.com to make it profitable for the opportunists who launched the site.
SueEasy.com has been placed on the auction block. It's going, going, and will soon be gone, perhaps to the highest bidder with the fewest scruples.
Let's hope it's a flop for them, too.