Frivolous is in the eye of the filer

"All lawsuits are frivolous except for the ones filed by me."  Whenever possible in this blog, I will try to illustrate this old adage by highlighting the stories of tort reformers-turned-plaintiffs and the trial lawyers they come to love. (Tips are welcome!)

Today's feature is Stephen Roberts, the president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. According to the Charleston Gazette, in August, Roberts hired trial lawyer Michael Glasser to sue his neighbors, whose son shot had Roberts' 13-year-old daughter in the eye with a paintball gun (typical West Virginia kind of lawsuit...). The injury left the girl with significant loss of vision. Roberts sued after his neighbors' insurance company refused to pay up.

Roberts was clearly delusional when he said legal changes advocated by the chamber wouldn't impact suits like his. The chamber (not to mention many of its funders) has tried to eliminate the collateral source rule and bad faith insurance statutes as well as limit pain and suffering awards, all of which could be issues in his case...