View article on WashingtonTimes.com
December, 20, 2007

The holiday season is in full swing. Most of us get into the spirit by hosting holiday parties, caroling around the neighborhood or hitting the mall to find that perfect gift. It is supposed to be a time for peaceful reflection and appreciation for one another—at its core a time to celebrate. But many of us don’t realize, even these holiday celebrations can be a source of lawsuit abuse with the help of a creative personal injury lawyer.

MSNBC recently included tips on avoiding lawsuits for holiday party hosts and gift givers as a part of its Holiday Guide. The network warns that before you wrap up your famous cookies or a perfumed candle for your neighbor, you better make sure you know about any allergies the recipients might have. If your neighbor is allergic to your gift and claims she told you about the allergy—incredibly—you could be held liable.

Hosting a holiday party can be a particularly dangerous venture. A survey conducted last year for Lawyers.com found that 20 percent of Americans plan to host holiday parties but many people do not realize the lawsuits to which they are vulnerable as party host.

Guests might have a few too many drinks, slip and fall on your sidewalk, scratch their eye on your holly leaf arrangement or have an allergic reaction to your chocolate raspberry torte. All of these could result in a lawsuit. Experts say it's a good idea to contact your homeowners insurance company prior to hosting a party to make sure you’re covered if you get sued.

These risks don’t apply only to individuals in their homes, but also, and perhaps most dangerously, to small businesses who open themselves up to massive legal liability by hosting holiday parties. Office holiday parties are often viewed as an essential year-end opportunity for vital team building and bonus-time celebration. However, a recent article from the Associated Press suggested that small businesses elect to serve no alcohol at holiday parties, or skip the party altogether to avoid potential lawsuits.

Not even the North Pole is free of lawsuits. This year, on the advice of legal counsel, Santa’s volunteers through the U.S. Postal Service’s Operation Santa program will have to show photo identification and sign a liability waiver if they want to help answer the Christmas wishes of needy children. As a result, many businesses and individuals say they will no longer be participating in the volunteer program because of the additional hassle.

When our charities are losing volunteers and we’re afraid to host parties or give gifts to our neighbors because of potential lawsuits, that is a clear sign that our legal system is out of control.

Part of the problem is personal responsibility, which seems to have to popularity of fruitcake these days. Evidence of this is no farther away than some of the gifts you may be opening on Christmas Day. Many contain warning labels that serve us more by telling us about our crazy legal system that they do in keeping us safe. A sled contains the warning: “Beware: Sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions.” Your child’s Razor scooter will come out of the box informing him that, “This product moves when used.” Recently, live Christmas trees from Nurserymen’s Exchange alerted purchasers that the trees were “not intended for human consumption.”

There once was a time when we didn’t need to be warned not to eat our Christmas tree. But too often, the attitude in our society is to look for others to blame, rather than taking responsibility for our own actions. Today we are seeing the results of this lawsuit lunacy—the shadow of potential litigation now hangs over our most sacred holiday traditions.

What all of this tells us is that the abuse of our legal system really knows no bounds, affecting all of us and even invading time-honored celebratory rituals. While we all face lawsuit risks, we shouldn’t let the problem of lawsuit abuse keep us from celebrations of any kind, let alone those that bring us together with family and promote the spirit of giving. Instead, we need to declare zero tolerance for frivolous lawsuits and bring in the New Year with a renewed birth of common sense in this country.

Record stores report strong sales for Bing Crosby Christmas music, which is a sign that America retains fine taste and a fondness for the tried and true. We can only hope that there is a similar growing appreciation for old-fashioned values like personal responsibility.

Todd D. Lamb is executive director of Maryland Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.