[dmm]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
What irritates me about courts is when the government uses it against you. My in-laws lost their house that way. The town wanted to widen the creek for flood control (which my in-laws had never had a problem with). Of course a "reasonable price" was offered for the property but it was way below market value so my father-in-law sued. He was quickly told by his lawyer that the price offered was nearly EXACTLY the market value minus the cost of taking it to court so he can sue and win but it would end up as the same money. Apparently thats a common tactic.

By the way, he did it anyway just cause he was pissed about it.

This type of rip-off was featured recently on 60 Minutes. (Non-US FYI: That's a well-respected news show in the US; normally too liberally slanted for my blood, but generally reliable.) One example was a town condemning a group of perfectly sound houses. Why? They had a picturesque view, and the town intended to sell the condemned property to a developer to build big expensive houses that would bring in more tax income for the city. The houses of the town mayor and council members did not meet the new code under which the condemnation was taking place, yet the mayor actually tried to defend the action as "progress." The good news is that the people sued and won.