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"Everyone is a victim of discrimination and everyone gets paid," according to a report that says Los Angeles' civil court system is one of seven "judicial hellholes" nationwide and ranks it the sixth most unjust. Basically, if sue for discrimination, you win, finds the American Tort Reform Foundation.
The best example?
Last year, the city paid $1.5 million to Tennie Pierce, an African-American firefighter on the receiving end of a prank in which dog food was mixed in with his spaghetti. Two white fire captains later sued, claiming they were scapegoats and subjected to discriminatory discipline and were awarded $1.6 million.
But the LA Superior Court spokesman told the Daily News the report is based on an "entirely subjective series of observations. We receive 1 million new nontraffic filings per year. In a court with that caseload, it's inevitable some people will be unhappy with the results of their litigation." Whether if either side is right or wrong, we'll let you be the judge of that.
Photo of the LA County Criminal Court Building by JT3_11 via Flickr