# What do people spend court settlements on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961 "2004-12-15T13:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/21 "2004-12-16T06:42:48Z")
> [@Random](#): > > You may want to explore concepts called “medical liens” and “subrogation” before you repeat this statement. Hey, I paid MY bills! =) ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/22 "2004-12-16T13:18:36Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Are these “winnings” (poor choice of words, I know) limited in how they can be spent? I figure that the costs are well documented, but in some of the more obviuously frivolous cases… **Random** is right. If part of your recovery pays you for medical expenses that were paid for by your medical insurer, your medical insurer sometimes has the right to be paid back. I used to know a lot about this particular area of law, but have forgotten most of it. Anyway, if the insurer jumps through the right hoops, it might wind up getting a separate check cut to it by the defendant or getting the plaintiff’s lawyer to pay it out of the settlement proceeds at the same time the plaintiff is getting a check. If the insurer does it right, in some states, the lawyer must satisfy the insurer’s claim out of the settlement. If not, the lawyer will wind up having to pay the medical insurer. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/23 "2004-12-16T13:22:30Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Probably 90% which was mostly for lost income. At that time Australian lawyers could not work on contingency so in everyone’s interest costs were kept down. We would not have persued tha case if the prospective costs were too high and we kept a close eye on what we were being charged. We settled out of court which saved us a huge amount of money. Interesting. Would you have been responsible for fees even if you lost? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/24 "2004-12-16T13:55:49Z")
In our case, the settlement ended up letting us out of our finance contract for the vehicle, having the vehicle taken back by the manufacturer, paying back every penny we’d spent on the car, our attorney’s fees, and a whole bunch of extra “pain in the ass” money because the car company were assholes to us. We had a great lawyer, and their lawyer seemed as if she had never gotten a law degree. She was borderline incompetant and our attorney ate her for lunch. Because all of what we had paid out was out-of-pocket, the cash went towards whatever we wanted. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/25 "2004-12-22T16:06:50Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Interesting. Would you have been responsible for fees even if you lost? Yes and possibly the costs of the insurance company we sued if they applied for costs in their favour. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/26 "2004-12-22T16:25:21Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Yes and possibly the costs of the insurance company we sued if they applied for costs in their favour. Aha. That’s a little discussed aspect of this picture. I have seen clients (not mine) have to file for bankruptcy because their lawyer lost the case, and the other side got a huge fee award against them. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/27 "2004-12-22T17:05:56Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Aha. That’s a little discussed aspect of this picture. I have seen clients (not mine) have to file for bankruptcy because their lawyer lost the case, and the other side got a huge fee award against them. Another interesting aspect, at least in California, happens with the decision to go to court. There has to be some sort of attempt to settle before the tax payer’s money is spent on a jury trial. Let’s say that the defendant offers $10k and the victim is looking for $100k. If neither side is willing to compromise any more, it will go to trial. If the jury awards something in between those two numbers, the victim is paid that amount. If the jury awards less than the $10k offer, the victim has to pay all of the court costs of the other side. Likewise, it the jury awards more than $100k, the defendant has to pay the victim’s lawyer’s costs. Haj ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/28 "2004-12-22T17:11:41Z")
In Australia the taxpayer is not paying anything for a civil suit. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961/29 "2004-12-22T17:24:00Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Another interesting aspect, at least in California, happens with the decision to go to court. There has to be some sort of attempt to settle before the tax payer’s money is spent on a jury trial. Let’s say that the defendant offers $10k and the victim is looking for $100k. If neither side is willing to compromise any more, it will go to trial. > > If the jury awards something in between those two numbers, the victim is paid that amount. If the jury awards less than the $10k offer, the victim has to pay all of the court costs of the other side. Likewise, it the jury awards more than $100k, the defendant has to pay the victim’s lawyer’s costs. > > Haj Yes. That is how these people wound up filing for bankruptcy. Cost shifting schemes that are designed to encourage compromises. Court costs are usually pretty limited, but if you run into an offer of judgment that was rejected, some schemes shift attorney fees to the rejecting party. So you can expect to get a verdict of $100,000, lose a trial, or win it for less than you expected (e.g., $9,000), and wind up liable for $60,000 in attorneys’ fees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-people-spend-court-settlements-on/279961.md?page=1)