"I mean, it– but it's part of so many different kind of suits that there are. When I was reading about it, one of the things that it said is that teachers are very often afraid of putting a child on their lap or putting their arms around a child if a child is crying because a parent can sue. I mean, these days you can sue for almost anything. "
Rosie called for losing plaintiffs to pay the legal bills of the victorious dependents. Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck agreed. It’s not an original idea and as Rosie noted, already in place in Britain, but very surprising for the ultra liberal personality.
Rosie also stated that this law is not in place because "lawyers have a big lobby in America in the political system." The entire transcript is below.
ROSIE O’DONNELL: Speaking of 70 million that "Idol" raised, there’s a man who is suing his dry cleaner for $67 million because they lost his pants.
[laughter]
BARBARA WALTERS: This is so– this is a two-year-old suit.
O’DONNELL: This is a two-year-old suit?
WALTERS: Suit, suing.
O’DONNELL: Oh I thought you meant the suit was two years old.
WALTERS: What happened was this is a guy, his name is Roy Pearson and I have nothing nice to say about him but maybe he's a wonderful man and good to his family. He is a local judge in Washington. Two years ago, he sent a pair of pants to Korean immigrants who have three cleaner stores. Jim and Sue Chong, they lost his pants and he was very upset. He was supposed to be on the bench that day. So he is suing them for emotional and physical and this and that. It’s a suit that’s been going on for two years.
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Can you even see a judge’s pants?
JOY BEHAR: So did he have no pants at the bench?
[Applause]
WALTERS: Maybe he has another pair of pants.
BEHAR: They had his underwear.
WALTERS: This has been going on– They have had lawyers' fees and to me, there are so many frivolous suits. I’m not talking about-- you know, anybody can sue for anything. To do this to this couple --
O’DONNELL: And be a judge while you're doing it.
WALTERS: I mean, it– but it's part of so many different kind of suits that there are. When I was reading about it, one of the things that it said is that teachers are very often afraid of putting a child on their lap or putting their arms around a child if a child is crying because a parent can sue. I mean, these days you can sue for almost anything.
O’DONNELL: You know, what's great in England, if you bring a lawsuit and the other person wins, you have to pay their legal fees. I think we should institute that in America.
BEHAR: That is a good idea.
HASSELBECK: That is a great idea.
O’DONNELL: That is a great idea. So let’s say you get sued-- this guy sues and he ends up losing the $67 million for a pair of pants and, shocking, maybe he'll loose, then he has to pay the legal fees of the people he sued. I think that would be great.
[Applause]
HASSELBECK: Why don’t we have that?
O’DONNELL: We don't have that because lawyers have a big lobby in America in the political system.
