Get ready for more ridiculous lawsuits. As I said yesterday, Bush signed a bill amending an obscure law called the “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,” earlier this year. The bill makes it easier for terrorist victims to recover civil damages. But what this bill will really do is launch an orgy of lawsuits that have nothing to do with terrorism.

Take Libya, for instance. In 2006, the U.S. State Department removed Libya from its list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” That opened the door to over a hundred million dollars worth of U.S. investment into Libya. However that wave of investment funds now exposes foreign investors to multimillion-dollar terrorism judgments.

Lawyers representing victims of terrorist attacks that Libya allegedly sponsored before 2006 have notified at least a dozen corporations of pending lawsuits. Since Libya was sued prior to 2006 in connection with these attacks, the lawyers believe they can go after companies that invested in Libya after the State Department took Libya off the terrorism list. If a federal court in Washington, D.C. agrees, it will be open season on any of these companies.

The same logic would presumably apply to investments in any other country that’s removed from the blacklist in the future. What that means is the same lawyers who troll the Internet looking for deep pockets could come after anyone with even the most remote connection to a “state sponsor of terrorism.” If you fit the criteria I mentioned yesterday, a plaintiff’s attorney could serve you with a notice of a costly lawsuit – whether you win or lose.

When President Bush campaigned for reelection in 2004, he promised to protect Americans from what he called “the explosion in frivolous lawsuits.” So it’s very ironic that as he leaves office, plaintiff’s attorneys are gearing up for an orgy of such lawsuits.

MARK NESTMANN, Privacy Expert &
President of The Nestmann Group
www.nestmann.com

Source: Next Time You’re Sued, Be Sure to Thank Mr. Bush