From: phil osborn (philosborn@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Sep 06 2000 - 21:27:47 MDT
>From: Paul Hughes <paul@planetp.cc>
>Subject: Re: Bugs in Anarchy was: Bugs in Free-Markets.
>Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 20:43:33 -0700
>
>"E. Shaun Russell" wrote:
>
> > Civil rights are fully uninfringed upon, and justice is untouched.
> > Multiple businesses can make multiple billions from using this free
>market,
> > yet very few (if any) civil rights will get quashed. This is the most
> > poignant example among others, in my opinion.
>
>You're kidding right? Sure the Internet is definitely leveling
>hierarchies,
>but one only has to look at the DeCSS case, or many of the so-called
>cyber-squatter cases to see that it is the larger corporation that more
>often
>than not is coming out on top. In case you haven't been following the most
>poignant recent example against civil rights I suggest you get yourself
>aquatinted with the DeCSS trial at http://www.2600.com/ Not only has Judge
>Kaplan said that code is not protected speech, but that even linking to
>such
>code is also illegal. And your telling me that civil rights are not
>getting
>squashed. My hope is that the internet and the advent of peer-to-peer
>networking will level hierarchies beyond anything we've seen yet.
>
> > Paul, before I address these sentences, I would like you to tell me who
>the
> > "little guy" is. What demographic do you have in mind?
>
>Isn't it glaringly obvious? You and me of course. The individual, your
>average non-millionare citizen, the non-incorporated being, the average
>joe,
>joe six-pack, mom, dad, your little sister, your friendly neighbor, the
>barber,
>your co-worker, the employee, the clerk, the gas station attendant, and
>anyone
>else without the financial or political power to manipulate or bully the
>legal
>or political process anywhere close to what a multi-billion dollar
>corporation
>is capable of doing. This is especially true where the corporation is the
>plaintiff.
>
>Paul Hughes
>http://planetp.cc/
>
A case in point is the situation with dental care. There is probably as
much or more fraud in dental care in the U.S. as there is in auto repair,
where it is estimated to run about 60%. Faye Willard, the lady who started
the American Dental Victims Association, tried sueing a Long Beach dentist
who first cut off the tops of her teeth, leaving the roots exposed, then
suddenly told her that their deal was off, and she had to sign an agreement
to pay a lot more money than had been previously agreed to before they would
install the crowns.
She hired a lawyer and sued, but was forced by the court to first go into
arbitration, where she was awared $15,000, I believe. She had already spent
that on her lawyer plus other expenses, so she turned down the award and
went into the state court. The judge was on a first-name basis with the
dentists and their lawyers. Faye couldn't afford to hire a court reporter
and the judge absolutely refused to allow her to tape record the
proceedings.
Of the 15 or so counts on which she was basing her suit, the judge refused
to allow all but one or two, so the jury only saw a fraction of the case on
which the arbitration award had been based. Thus, they also awarded her
$15,000, which meant that she now got to pay the court costs, as it was the
same or less than the arbitration award. When Faye tried to file an appeal,
of course she discovered that the court records were falsified and had her
saying things totally contrary to fact. (This happens a lot, especially in
lower court proceedings and in pseudo-courts like Workman's Comp hearings.
It's pretty much a tip-off when the "judge" won't allow tape recording.)
There are entire books by licensed dentists that describe exactly the
procedures that are commonly used by dentists to ensure that you will be
making many unhappy returns. As Paul correctly points out, the average
person stands little chance going up against a professional scam operation.
They have had lots of experience working out the bugs in their legal warfare
kit.
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