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Frivolous Lawsuit of the Day

I have seen plenty of frivolous lawsuits over the years, but our litigious society still hasn’t run out of new ways to waste courtroom time and taxpayer dollars. In this case, a woman in New York City is suing Monroe College for $70,000 because she can’t find a job and wants her tuition refunded.

According to the suit, the school’s career office failed to provide Trina Thompson with career advice and job placement. Of course, there are a few questions we don’t have the answers to: Did Thompson ask for career advice and leads? She might have. Did the school guarantee successful job placement? I can pretty much guarantee they didn’t.

Even if both Thompson and the school worked their butts off there’s no guarantee that Thompson would find a job within any particular length of time in a down economy. Furthermore, even if the school slacked completely they are under no legal obligation to find Thompson a job and (assuming the school is properly accredited) it’s pretty ludicrous for Thompson to claim she is entitled to a full refund of $70,000 in tuition for her degree. The degree has value, so even if the case had any merit (it doesn’t) she would only be entitled to a partial refund.

Of course, since the case has no merit whatsoever, Thompson is entitled to nothing (and should be made to reimburse all court costs, both to Monroe College and the taxpayers).

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.