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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">Rickard</p>           WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A campaign by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform says frivolous lawsuits are harming small businesses and the families that rely on them.<br /><br />The initiative, Faces of Lawsuit Abuse, highlights small business owners who say the cost of fighting foundation-less lawsuits has caused them problems. The ILR owns Legal Newsline and the Southeast Texas Record.<br /><br />\"Abusive lawsuits are not victimless,\" ILR President Lisa Rickard said. \"Many people have the perception that lawsuits are primarily the concern of faceless, 'deep-pocket' corporations, yet small businesses and average families are also victims of these abusive suits.\"<br /><br />Included in the collection of video stories on the Web site are:<br /><br /><li>Two South Korean immigrants who continue to pay to fight a lawsuit brought by a former Washington, D.C., administrative law judge who wants $54 million because they allegedly misplaced his pants at their now-closed dry cleaning business;<br /><br /><li>The closing of Basketball Town, a youth basketball facility in California, due to the costs associated with fighting a lawsuit brought by the handicapped family member of a child who was having a party there. Basketball Town offered to move the party to a downstairs area to accommodate the man, who was in a wheelchair, but the family refused; and<br /><br /><li>A Maryland pool supply owner who was sued for $750,000 by a woman who was startled and fell after a wild goose nesting near his store startled her.<br /><br />The ILR will run television, radio and on-line advertisements through early 2009. An election night poll commissioned by the ILR said 83 percent of voters believe the number of frivolous lawsuits in the country is a problem.<br /><br />\"The people featured in this campaign all suffered real emotional and financial pain,\" Rickard said. \"By giving voices to their stories, we hope that Americans will understand that our lawsuit-happy culture is taking a toll on their friends, neighbors and local businesses.\"<br /><br /><em>From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com</em>.<br />"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://setexasrecord.com/stories/510610318-chamber-begins-frivolous-lawsuit-awareness-campaign>