Re: [PLUG] OT: Linux Business Forum

["William H. Magill" <magill@mcgillsociety.org>]

On Monday, October 21, 2002, at 03:46  PM, Michael Leone wrote:
> > If the US Gov't
> > can't successfully sue M$ for being an illegal monopoly - then I don't
> > know how a business is going to sue them - or anyone else. Plus, there
>
> Possibly because you're not suing them for illegal practices, but 
> rather
> breach of support? Providing a defective product, more likely. Beats 
> me; I
> don't plan to sue anybody.

There is a very big difference between "successfully" suing someone, 
and simply suing someone!

"Breech of contract" is the normal "suit" term. However, it is never 
something which is intended to accomplish anything other than to get 
the Vendor's attention.

There is a MAJOR difference between having your lawyer call up their 
lawyer and threaten to sue unless some thing is made good, and actually 
filing the paper work and spending the time and mega-dollars in court.

While lots of Management people constantly use the "we can sue them" 
line, very few if any of them have ever EVER talked to their corporate 
attorney about filing a suit. They are as ignorant of the Legal Process 
as they are of Technology. And I won't even get into the difference 
between a criminal proceeding - the Government suing Microsoft - and a 
civil proceeding - your boss suing some hardware/software vendor
(or VAR).

The simple answer (some might say, the cynical answer) -- 99% of law 
suits filed are never intended to "go to trial." Every lawyer expects 
to "settle" the dispute long before it gets to trial. Even when there 
is "in-house counsel" involved and "supposedly" doing all the work, the 
lawyers involved in the suit will make at least twice as much as the 
plaintiff. And if you don't have salaried counsel, then it's guaranteed 
that they will make far more than you will ever recover.

Sadly, pointy haired managers think they can sue everybody all the time 
and win.

T.T.F.N.
William H. Magill
magill@mcgillsociety.org
magill@acm.org
magill@mac.com

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