Avoiding Litigation: A Personal Contract by Dr. Keith Swift.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

I forgot to respond to the question about the two-year clause. It's there because in my state the statute of limitation is four years, which I think is absurd and, therefore, sought to limit. This brings me to William Decker's admonition about having attorneys approve our contracts. The clause that I've just mentioned--and others in my contract-- probably won't hold up in court, but if the clauses are ethical, reasonable, and moral, who cares what may or may not happen to them in court, or what some attorney might think. As I point out in most of my articles, once you're named in a suit, you've lost, even when you win. A finders-keepers law in Florida allowed a thief to claim and keep money that was in a car that he'd stolen. Believe it or not, that law held up in court. Finally, I thank those of of you who have sent me emails and others for their kind words.

[William J. Decker]

Dr. Swift; (Gee, That sounds like a good Sci-Fi character)

I agree. It can never be stated to often that "The law is an ***", as a former Justice of the Supreme Court once said.

The law and litigation is not about common sense, or justice of about doing the right thing.

It is about proceedure and precident and making a good argument.

But, just like in home repair, if one hires a good lawyer and lets him assume the liability, through his malpractice insurance (Like E & O), things get done better.

Just my two cents.

[Keith Swift, PhD.]

Why would anyone want to dignify a procedure that makes a mockery of justice? The trick is to avoid litigation. And if that means employing speed bumps that are exculpatory, and wouldn't hold up in court, so be it. Until there's tort reform, or until common sense returns to our judicial system, inspectors will continue to be terrorized.