Lawyers etc...a letter for ST approval

Triathlon Forum
1

Okay,

here it is. the first draft of what i plan on sending to our lawyer friend who sees fit to sue a bunch of people because he crashed and got hurt while mountain biking. Please critique, suggest alternating wording, deletions, additions, grammar etc. Once i have enough of a consensus i will send this along. I seriously encourage many of you to do the same. Perhaps is his law firm sees the PR nightmare beginning they will pull the plug themselves.

thanks guys,

Dear James,

It has recently come to my attention that you are currently involved in a lawsuit against a mountain bike trail centre and its affiliates.

First, let me start off by saying how sorry I am that you had to endure those injuries resulting from an accident you had while riding your bike there. I’ve been an avid mountain biker for close to 10 years, and I’ve had my fair share of crashes, broken bikes and the odd broken bone. I’m very thankful every time I’m able to get up, dust off and carry on down the trail. I don’t wish that kind of crash outcome on anyone. We are all out there to have fun, not get killed.

Having said that, I must say I am rather shocked and appalled at the course of action you have decided to pursue with regards to your accident. I wonder if you have thought about the long lasting ramifications this lawsuit could have, not only for the trail system in question, but for the whole of the sport in North America? We are already at a point where insurance fees and regulations are making it difficult for resorts to justify allowing mountain biking on their properties. We have already seen the cancellation of major world class races at venues around both Canada and the United States, due largely to outlandish insurance fees. Your lawsuit threatens to put another nail in a coffin that is already becoming far too tightly sealed. I worry that once insurance companies get wind of your impending lawsuit, they are going to increase premiums at mountain bike resorts to a point where many will feel it is not financially feasible to allow mountain bikers on their property. I worry that if you are successful in your lawsuit, many mountain bike parks will shut down out of fear of being open to future lawsuits.

Your current course of action is threatening to take the sport of mountain biking down a very dark and dangerous path. It could have dire ramifications for resorts, athletes, bicycle retailers and manufacturers. If there ends up being nowhere to ride, no bikes will be sold, and you could single handedly be responsible for the decline of the mountain bike in North America.

I wonder if you have at all stopped to look at the big picture beyond your own personal temporary suffering. You are about to change the face of mountain biking for ever, and not for the good of those who partake in the sport.

News of your lawsuit has traveled quickly, and is now the hot topic on many cycling forums around the continent. I must say, none of the talk is favorable. In some instances, your fellow lawyers are speaking out against this lawsuit as being frivolous, and potentially dangerous to the sport. This lawsuit has the potential to become a Public Relations nightmare for both you and your law firm if it is seen through to completion.

When I read about your experience, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel to what happened to Christopher Reeves during his horse jumping exhibition. When his horse balked at the rail, and he was thrown to the ground, did he sue the horse trainer? NO. Did he sue the groundskeeper? NO. Did he sue the manufacturer of the rail? NO. Did he sue the designer of the course? NO. He sued no one. He took responsibility for being part of a sport that has inherent dangers, and accepted his fate based on that. Instead of placing blame and seeking compensation, he took the higher road, and went on a crusade to help research the injuries he sustained, to help make the world a better place for other’s who may one day find themselves in a situation similar to his.

You have an opportunity here to help the sport, to work with the trail owners and workers, to make this area safer for all who ride there. You have an opportunity to help grow the sport of mountain biking, so that future generations may continue to enjoy it as you did. I fear the course of action you are currently following will do none of this.

I urge you to reconsider your lawsuit, to think of the future and the effects this may have on the sport and those who practice it. I urge you to pull your lawsuit, and instead work with those you have named to make the trails safe, so that other’s don’t suffer the same fate you did.

Thank you for your time regarding this matter. I wish you all the best in the future, and many happy trails.

Sincerely,

Ian MacLean

2

Ian sounds good so far. Although I do think that anyone who would file that suit could probably care less about the future of mountain biking in North America. Do you have an address to send it to? If so please post it. I do hope everyone else who writes take the even and controlled tone you did.

3

Thats good Ian, when I read about this a couple of weeks ago in the Star I just about gagged. This guy is a complete idiot and your letter is a much more measured response than mine would be. Is there a way we can all sign it to let him know you are fronting a large wave of disbelief at his selfishness?

J

4

I do not mountain bike (both of my sons do), I do inline, I down hill ski, I ride my road bike on busy highways, I do this fully aware of the possibilities of an accident. I try to lessen the possibilities of incidents (Short of a drunk drivers) but I am aware of them. I have had many scares, crashes, scrapes, bumps, cuts, tears, even have hit some huge pot holes that bent wheels, never thought of suing.

I take full responsibilities for my actions and I am aware of the dangers!!!

I for one support your letter!

well written James.

Rick

5

Here’s the address again, it was first posted in the original thread…

http://www.beardwinter.com/bwinter\bwhome.nsf/Pages/bioLeoneJamesV

We can go about this two ways, send one letter with alot of signatures attached, or send a whole bunch of individual emails. Personally, I think the second option will have more impact. It can be the same email, but if they get 100+ in their inboxes, they will have to take notice. Let me know what you think. I say we send the one email to as many people as we know who would be interested in this, and ask them all to send it on to Mr. Leone.

6

Might want to copy “Winter” of Beard-Winter as well.

7

How about something like:

Dear XXX,

this lawsuit is bullS. if you don’t want to crash, don’t ride bikes you wimp

YYY who has crashed N times and never sued anyone because I know better

8

I’m actually going to compile all the email addresses I can from that office and cc it to all of them. I think the whole office needs to realize the potential impact, not just for us, but for them from a PR standpoint too.

9

Sorry Ian, I don’t think your letter strikes the right tone at all. As I understand it, you are writing to a lawyer about a lawsuit in which he is also the plaintiff.

The parts of the letter that strike the wrong tone are the parts that make such a big deal out of the suit and the possibilities of far reaching consequences. Basically, you are warning the lawyer of the terrible things that will happen if he wins.

Gee Mr. Lawyer, I realize that you might become a multimillionaire based upon this lawsuit, but you should put that aside and think about all the other people this might affect.

Doesn’t sound like a winning line of reasoning against a blood sucking lawyer.

I do like the PR angle though. Maybe you should lead with that, and maybe end there too.

10

three things: first, it’s reeve, no “s”.

second, there really is no righteous reason for him to sue, i’m guessing. do we know this?

third, i’m the sort of guy that likes to find the soft underbelly and hit there. this is a good sized firm, corporate law, intellectual property, entertainment law, etc. i’m thinking you compile their client’s list and attack there.

i’m going to be lecturing at harvard law on the subject of tactical vindictiveness, and this is on point.

11

Tactically nice. Legally dangerous.

If this guy’s lawsuit happy, which he sure seems to be, interfering with his relationship with clients is going to trigger another lawsuit by him - against you. That could be deemed intentional interference with contract or with economic relationship. Even if the suit eventually fails, it can be painful while it’s going on.

Benjamin

12

“That could be deemed intentional interference with contract or with economic relationship”

if so, why isn’t every end-user boycott a target for a lawsuit?

13

I agree that the implications may not have much of an effect on him, but it’s worth a shot. It’s also there for the partners in the firm, who don’t have such a vested interest, this line of reasoning may work a bit better.

As for PR, I do think that is what will hit them most, so help me on a strategy for that. I’m thinking along the lines of a public boycott of not only the firm, but of any business entity that has done business with the firm, past and present. Sort of the soft underbelly Dan is talking about. and btw, what are you doing up so early Dan?

I guess the real question is, how many out there will back this up with a signature or a similarly toned email? One guy won’t get results, but if all of slowtwitchia got involved, maybe we can do something.

14

Sorry - but I’ve never heard of the suit. I google’d mountain biiing lawsuit and got a couple of hits on the cougar-mountain biker lawsuit was dropped, and the snow summit DH being dropped. What happened here?

15

Ian:

I think that’s a very good letter. It’s polite, professional, and gets your point across. As pthers have suggested, though, don’t have any expectations that it will cause Mr. Leone to do (or not do) anything. While Art’s response is no doubt somewhat colored by his bad experience with lawyers, he does have a point. I think this guy probably thinks he’s found his meal ticket, and I don’t hink he’ll let it go.

As to Dan’s point… do we have any idea whether this guy has suffered any permanent injuries as a result of his crash, or are we all just assuming he got a little trail rash, and now wants a million bucks (okay, so the article says he cracked a vertebrae or something)? It may behoove you to look into it a little before sending the letter.

16

the original post regarding this suit can be found on page 2 of the forum, maybe page 3. title lawyers and why there are so few trails…

17

dude is riding his bike on a trail system run by a non-profit organization.

hits a pot hole…falls…crashes…cracks vertebra.

is now suing everyone in sight for over $1Mil. ‘loss of salary, mental anguish, physical pain + wife’s loss of guidance, etc’

basically…he’s being a lawyer @ his worst.

18

What about emailing every lawyer on their contact page simply asking for the lawsuit to be pulled?

19

Ian
I would consider raising awareness through the local news paper where this firm resides. It is a free public medium to voice your concerns and views. You could even purchase add space or letters to the editor. Contact local TV to cover the suit. Bad PR for the firm would be very effective in the corporate world.
Letters to this person directly may be taken to heart but it appears that a person that would bring this suit doesn’t much care about anybody or anything besides himself.

Just my 2 cents

20

Just a comment on the Christopher Reeve questions – rhetorical questions don’t need to be answered. Putting NO in all caps makes it look less professional in my opinion.

I really hope the guy reconsiders.