I'm currently working on a finacial dispute being played out in Federal Court. On the surface, it's a typical case. But underneath, it's become a Mad Max level epic battle for survival...
The parties have become inextricably entrenched in their positions, building a cement block wall with their unshakable belief that the other side is wrong, no matter what the evidence says. Each side has exchanged salvos in the form of motions for sanctions, motions to compel and interlocutory appeals that hit the other side's wall like so many pieces of wet toilet paper. The only person with a sledgehammer, the Judge, is content to leave his best tool sitting in the corner untouched, while letting each side swing away at each other's wall with their wet toilet paper attacks.
The worst part about this? Between both sides, the attorneys' fees and costs have now reached almost twice the total amount of the original dispute, and we are still almost a year away from trial, and two to three years away from resolution of the inevitable appeal of that trial's outcome.
I begin to wonder whether I'll be retired before this mess is ever resolved. In the meantime, I'm learning all sorts of interesting new procedural tidbits that are almost never used, so there's that.
2 comments:
I hate it when the cost of litigation far exceeds anything either side could gain. It can be a bit of a joyless task working on it, that's for sure.
I have one of those, too, minus the interlocutory appeals (though I fully expect that if the other side loses, they'll appeal). We head off to our pointless trial next week and what did I spend the entirety of my day doing (rather than getting trial exhibits ready)?
Responding to a discovery request they didn't make until after we filed our pretrial briefs.
And ditto the comments on the judge in our case. Too nice and has absolutely no desire to have this case on his docket.
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