Don’t you hate lawyers? After all aren’t the lawyers responsible for all those frivolous lawsuits? Here sing with me. Rain, rain, go away come again another day. Many Iowans with some form of water damage are mad and will probably be madder after they speak with their good neighbor or the guy who they are supposed to be in good hands with; your homeowner’s insurance company. They will call the lawyer right after the homeowner finds out that their good neighbor isn't so good or that they aren't really in a pair of good hands.

For 8 years I tolerated listening and reading about tort reform and today I’m here to remind you why it made no sense then and won’t to you today. Eight years is a long time to listen to it because lawyers know what happens when you file claims under your insurance policy. We knew sooner or later you would have to call the lawyer.

EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT YOU WANTED VERSUS WHAT YOU BOUGHT

Have you read your homeowner's insurance policy lately? I doubt you have. I'm not a gambling-man but I'll bet you haven't. So now you want to sue? But wouldn’t the lawyer be filing a frivolous lawsuit if he or she did file your lawsuit? Oh, so it's alright for us to file suit as long as YOU ARE the "OTHER GUY". Now I get it.

Remember tort reform and how you were persuaded by the politicians and Wall Street that the lawyers were the problem with American business. Have you forgotten? Let's take a refresher course on tort reform. The lyrics went something like this:

There are too many lawsuits because there are too many lawyers; the lawyers are filing all those frivolous lawsuits.

What makes one lawsuit frivolous and another one not frivolous? Is the big difference the name in the caption?

The Tort Reformer’s Mantra: Lawyers are to blame for all the frivolous lawsuits!

That's the same kind of reasoning that would have you blaming cancer on oncologists. Here is the dialogue you’re about to hear. It will be easier to take if you're sitting down. Yes, sit please.

Mr. and Mrs. Policyholder: Hi, Mr. Insurance agent I have water damage from all the flooding. Yeah it’s a casualty and should be covered under our policy of insurance.

Insurance Adjuster: Sorry you’re SOL.

Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner: Say what! What did you say?

Your good neighbor and the one that you're in good hands with respond with, TS we aren't paying. Go read your insurance policy.

Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner: Where can we find a lawyer to file a not-so-frivolous lawsuit?

Hmmmm, what's this all about Mr. and Mrs. Lawyer being to blame? Here are the facts. Flooding brings property damage and with it come insurance claims. Are you one of the unhappy homeowners with nothing but a big N-O from your at-time-of-sale good neighbor? The fact that insurance policy is in small type, has a gazillion words you don't understand and that no one explained it to you won't persuade the Court you should win. It doesn't work that way. Here is really how it works.

The insurance companies make a lot of dough and they have a boat load of lobbyists. They’ve contributed a bigger boat load of cash to the Congress. So it goes without saying we are going to have a lot of unhappy homeowners with little or no recourse because your policy excludes flood damage. You don’t believe me, well go read it.

Are you one of the voters that pointed a gun at the lawyers and then shot yourself in the foot with the loaded pistol your good neighbor provided? And you thought you were in such good hands with them. I’ll bet you can hear that jingle playing in your head, can’t you? “And like a good neighborrrrrrr…..” It will stay there all night too. Hopefully it will be there when you're listening to politicians blame the lawyers for frivolous lawsuits that don't exist.

Damage Often Needs Separate Coverage From National Program, August 13, 2010

It wasn't that long ago the general public wanted all sorts of tort reform. They bought the tort reformer arguments hook, line and sinker. And now they are about to see what is meant by; what goes around eventually comes around. Congress baited the voters just before Wall Street raided the U.S. Treasury and except for empty promises what do we have left? You've got a bench packed with conservative minded individuals and laws to back up tough love from the bench and bar. Yes from the bar as well because we can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

So where will all of this go and how will it shake out for you and yours? I suspect the Judge's ruling will end with some statement that brings to mind another commercial message. 

"What's in your wallet?"

As a homeowner, a commercial property owner, an investor and a lawyer I've been considering what all this means to different forms of real estate ownership. Tomorrow I'm going to discuss condos and townhouse HOA boards and what these boards need to be considering. I’ve been researching the condo market in different cities and what I've been learning disturbs me from the standpoint of how condominium and townhome complexes are being managed.

See you tomorrow and remember the Democrats were as much to blame as the Republicans when it came to selling the false prophet called tort reform. Maybe I do like rap.