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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Uncivil Litigation

Wouldn't you just love to be able to sue people who are rude to you - especially if they're judges?

OK, rudeness litigation probably isn't worth the trouble, but we may see some precedent in this area if a recent proposed class action filed against the Los Angeles Superior Court goes anywhere.

In case you missed it, the suit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of Superior Court interpreters. It wasn't just about rudeness, but rudeness was a pretty big part of the complaint. Someone's feelings were hurt.

Here's a small bit of the suit:

"The Superior Court and its judges routinely discriminate against interpreters, commonly treating them as almost invisible.

"For example, it is common for Superior Court judges, when welcoming a jury, to ostensibly introduce all the participants in the courtroom proceedings (often by name) - the prosecuting attorney, the defense attorney, and the court reporter, as well as the clerks and bailiff - and ignore the interpreter, who is in plain view."

They're probably waiting for them to translate the introductions.

Now there are other salary and promotion issues in the lawsuit, but the rudeness part probably shouldn't be that much of an issue. After all, translators are in a unique position to strike back.

Imagine what they can say - loudly and in court - about some of those judges while they're supposed to be translating.

Picture a courtroom filled with members of an ethnic minority all smirking at once.

That's got to be more satisfying than suing the judge.

MORE RUDENESS LITIGATION. Oddly, yet another rudeness lawsuit was filed last week in Los Angeles. I don't know what to make of it, but it needs to be reported.

The plaintiffs are a pair of Korean businesswomen. The defendant is their aunt who, allegedly, got unauthorized online access to one of the sister's travel plans. This is from the defamation/infliction of emotional distress suit (with names redacted) actually filed by a major law firm that describes a scene at the airport:

"While (Sister 1) and the woman were discussing (Sister 2's) stature as a successful Korean-American businesswoman, they were suddenly interrupted by a shrewish old woman, who was not immediately recognizable to (Sister 1). Short, porcine and wrinkled, the old woman addressed (Sister 1) with her double-chin pressed into her neck by a contented smile, declaring in a loud voice in the Korean language words to the effect of 'I am your aunt and I am so glad I met you. Can you recognize me? You had the sex with my ex-husband. Your sister had the sex with him and took my husband away from me. You and your sister both had the sex with my ex.'"

Does this remind anyone else of an episode of Ranma ½?

If you're not an anime fan, you can look it up.

STILL MORE RUDENESS. Also last week, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit brought us another tale of rudeness in which a guy from Nigeria tried to cash a check at a Bank of America branch and was refused.

Then he took the check to another Bank of America branch and they did cash the check.

And then the Nigerian sued Bank of America for not cashing the check the first time.

I'm guessing guys from Nigeria are having lots of trouble with financial transactions these days and are pretty tired of it.

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