Should all settlement amounts be public record?

[TheDeuce]

Not every state makes their lottery winners public. Ohio is a state that gives the winner a choice.

 

I would absolutely choose to remain anonymous if I had the option.

[Irish Cat]

I would absolutely choose to remain anonymous if I had the option.

 

Depending on what you win, that's probably not realistic for most people. $10,000 on a scratch off or something sure, but if you hit something like a Powerball jackpot, while it might not be broadcast, I'd guess people are going to figure out something is up. Most people couldn't resist buying some toys, etc.

 

Would be hard to explain if you quit your job, but at the same time buy new cars, homes, etc. If I won I don't think I would be able to keep it a secret very long. Might not tell anyone, but they'd know.

[TheDeuce]

Depending on what you win, that's probably not realistic for most people. $10,000 on a scratch off or something sure, but if you hit something like a Powerball jackpot, while it might not be broadcast, I'd guess people are going to figure out something is up. Most people couldn't resist buying some toys, etc.

 

Would be hard to explain if you quit your job, but at the same time buy new cars, homes, etc. If I won I don't think I would be able to keep it a secret very long. Might not tell anyone, but they'd know.

 

I would obviously buy toys and things to where people would know I had some money. I just don't want it broadcast on the 11:00 news.

[theguru]

I sue (hypothetical) the Anderson County parks department because I was hurt at a park in large part because of their negligence. I win $100,000. I might not want people in my community knowing I won that, simply because it could cause bad blood towards me and I could possibly become a target of hate, ridicule...maybe even worse. There are millions of examples one could use.

 

If that is how you feel then maybe you shouldn't be filing suit.

[LRCW]

If that is how you feel then maybe you shouldn't be filing suit.

 

If you won $180 million in the Power Ball, and bought your ticket in Ohio, would you chose to remain anonymous?

[tcjkbt]

No, to answer the question. We have enough government intrusion into the affairs of private parties without requiring that private agreements be made public. I think the prevailing public policy is to keep settlements private or confidential in order to encourage settlements. Court-ordered mediation is specifically made confidential and non-admissible at trial fror this very same reason.

[theguru]

I certainly understand "victims" wanting to have the option to remain anonymous but that blows up the whole idea because both sides have what I would term a conflict of interest.

 

Random thought here but lots of people like to blame lawyers for this and lawyers for that but in reality most people do the same things when the shoe is on the other foot.

[theguru]

If you won $180 million in the Power Ball, and bought your ticket in Ohio, would you chose to remain anonymous?

 

No.

[LRCW]

No.

 

What would be the benefit of everyone knowing you won?

[theguru]

What would be the benefit of everyone knowing you won?

 

Brother, you and I know each other very well, since when do I care what other people think about me?

 

And frankly, like was mentioned above, people would know if I won the lottery.

[LRCW]

Brother, you and I know each other very well, since when do I care what other people think about me?

 

And frankly, like was mentioned above, people would know if I won the lottery.

 

I'm not talking about what people think about you, the concern would be everyone, and their cousin pestering the heck out of you for money. If people know you have tons and tons of money suddenly the safety and security of your children could come into play. There are all kinds of things you would have to worry about.

[theguru]

I'm not talking about what people think about you, the concern would be everyone, and their cousin pestering the heck out of you for money. If people know you have tons and tons of money suddenly the safety and security of your children could come into play. There are all kinds of things you would have to worry about.

 

Think, know, same thing to me. I self disclose a lot.

 

And you watch too many movies.

[ColonelCrazy]

I am sure there are a lot of pros and cons but thinking of the big picture should all settlement amounts be public record? In other words, no non-disclosures when it comes to money.

 

I realize this will make some individual cases more difficult but I believe it serves a high good moving forward.

 

Anyone? Agree? Disagree? Pros? Cons?

 

What "high good" would it serve moving forward?

[theguru]

What "high good" would it serve moving forward?

 

Transparency, truth, and honesty instead of secret deals and you have no idea, and there is more to the story, and you don't understand, blah blah blah.

 

Think of the sports analogy, they don't ask how, just how many.

[ColonelCrazy]

To answer your question: no, I do not believe settlements should be public record, for several reasons:

 

1. Privacy Issues: Many settlements arise from situations that are embarrassing, damaging, or very personal in nature. For example, consider the Plaintiff that contracts HIV after undergoing an otherwise routine surgery at the local hospital. Plaintiff is otherwise a healthy individual and likely does not want his medical condition to be known, much less publicly available. The settlement agreement could possibly be tailored to avoid including all of the facts at issue, but the fact remains that the settlement amount would be publicly available and questions would ensue that are not fair to Plaintiff (and to a lesser extent the hospital).

 

2. Each claim, settlement and/or lawsuit is unique, but may arise from similar circumstances. For example, consider a manufacturing defect which injures 10 people on 10 separate occasions across the country. Each of these 10 people may hire a different local attorney to represent them against a manufacturer. The manufacturer would likely hire the same attorney to defend the action (with the assistance of local counsel). Each of these 10 claims are very different although they arise from the same manufacturing defect. If settlements are publicly available, attorneys and insurance adjusters may resort to the “settlement database” to determine the “retail value” of a claim, rather than evaluating the claim on an individual basis. If the 1st Plaintiff settles for $50,000 (and it becomes public record), why can’t each claim settle for the same amount?

 

3. I don't feel that the government should be any more involved than it already is.

 

I fully support the reasons you've cited for making them public record: transparency, truthfulness, accountability, etc. I just don't see how making settlements publicly available would improve those concerns. In the grand scheme of things, only a minority of settlements contain confidentiality clauses prohibiting either side from discussing the details. Any jury verdict is already publicly available and there are publications which monitor, track & analyze those verdicts for the public.

Edited April 17, 2014 by ColonelCrazy