Smoking in France a thing of the past?

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Scrooge McSam

I would need to read more before engaging you on that point. I do find it hard to believe that the US is the only place one would find a frivolous lawsuit.

No, the U.S. isn't the only place where they happen. But the U.S. system is particularly conducive to frivolous suits in some ways. It is much more common in the rest of the world to be on the English Rule system where the loser of a civil suit to have to pay the legal fees of the winner. The American Rule (each side paying its own legal expenses regardless of outcome) is somewhat anomalous in the world. I believe it is still the case that the only major country in the world on the American Rule system is Japan and they charge court filing fees as a proportion of the claimed damages.

The English Rule removes the incentive for a defendant to settle simply because it would be cheaper than going to court (even if they're in the right). It also removes the incentive for lawyers to take fringe cases on contingency knowing that it only takes a certain percentage settling out of court (for the above reason) to come out in the black on the whole endeavor.

Massive class action suits are also more difficult to form in most other countries and caps on punitive damages are more common as well.