Roses are red, but lawsuits make us blue

So a husband rings up a flower shop and orders posies for his mistress. The missus finds out, a divorce turns ugly and the cheating heart sues the flower shop because now his divorce is going to really cost him.

Sounds like the start of a bad joke … or at least an old country tune, right? Sadly, no; this lawsuit is happening here in Texas and it’s just the latest thorn in the side of our justice system.

It all started when the wayward husband brought a lawsuit against a national floral chain after he got caught having an affair. He claims the flower shop created a prickly situation by ratting him out to his wife. (In fact, all the flower shop did was fax a receipt — upon request — to the man’s home.)

Now entangled in a costly divorce, the hubby says it’s the flower shop’s fault that his divorce is going to cost him more than a semi of tulips bulbs imported straight from Holland. This guy could use a refresher course on my mother’s simple rule: You live with the consequences of your behavior. We could say he made his own muddy flowerbed and should lie in it, but it seems that’s what got him in the briar patch in the first place.

Should this man be in divorce court? Maybe so. But going to court for damages against the flower shop? Hardly.

If you ask me, the lawsuit smells … and not like roses. This flap over the flowers is just the latest example of how our society has abandoned all sense of personal responsibility and replaced it with a warped sense of entitlement. The “somebody’s gotta pay” mentality is so pervasive that it sacrifices common sense on the altar of greed, and makes a mockery out of our justice system.

Too many people run straight for the courthouse when things don’t go their way. Although many of these questionable cases are dismissed, they still take money, time and energy to defend. As a result, people with legitimate claims are stuck in line waiting for their day in court while the courts try to weed out frivolous claims.

Our courts exist to deliver justice for the truly injured, not to issue free passes to those who’d rather shirk personal responsibility.

While we may shake our collective head at this ridiculous case, there’s nothing funny about the cost of all of this. The U.S. tort system cost Americans $261 billion in 2005, or the equivalent of $880 for every man, woman and child in our country. And that doesn’t even include the extra price we all pay for consumer goods because of lawsuits. In fact, lawsuit abuse drives up consumer prices, hurts businesses and jobs as employers must cope with ever-increasing liability costs and even threatens critical services such as health care.

When people dodge personal responsibility, questionable lawsuits bombard the court dockets and undermine justice.

It’s time we all learn to resist the temptations of this perverse blame game. We need to reacquaint ourselves with personal responsibility. We need to realize that every dilemma or personal disappointment is not fodder for a lawsuit and does not warrant a treasure trove of cash. And that, like it or not, we all must reap what we sow and live with the consequences of our behavior.

Summers is founder of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and president of the original chapter in the Rio Grande Valley.