Remember the lawsuit about the woman who ordered McDonald's coffee and spilled it on her lap and sued McDonald's because it didn't have a warning label on it? What about the woman who fell into the mall fountain while texting and wants to sue the mall? These lawsuits may seem quite far-fetched. They fall into the category called frivolous. Black's Law Dictionary defines frivolous as lacking legal basis or legal merit; not serious; not reasonably intentional (Garner, 2006). When people pursue lawsuits like these, it costs money. “The civil justice system is plagued by high 'transaction costs,' meaning it is expensive and time-consuming to use the courts to resolve disputes” (Ruschmann, 2006, p. 60). Frivolous lawsuits should not be taken seriously. People should not receive money for things they caused themselves and it should not cost the courts and consumers time and/or money. There are many steps to take once you decide to file a lawsuit. Many Americans suffer from injuries but only a small percentage of them file lawsuits because many of them have valid claims but have little money. Sometimes when the plaintiffs, the person filing the lawsuit, go to court, there's a lot of money that has to be spent upfront. “Taking on a major case with a contingency fee and upfront all the out-of-pocket expenses is a very expensive proposition” (Bourhis, 2005, p. 76). The lawyers created the contingent fee agreement. This is where “a lawyer agrees to take on a case without a retainer and without asking the client to pay an hourly or flat fee. In exchange, the lawyer is entitled to receive a percentage of the actual amount of money collected, usually 33%, but sometimes 40% if... middle of the paper... received the potential for a large fee . Three percent of product liability cases involved toxic substances, including tobacco. Three tobacco product liability trials were thrown out in a national sample in 2005. All three of these trials were decided by juries that ruled in favor of the defendants. Toxic substances were linked in 346 of 354 product liability lawsuits (Cohen, 2009). Tort reformers believe that courts must reduce defendants' capacity for liability to avoid economic decline. In the years ahead, proposals likely to generate the most controversy include negligence and class action reform, limits on noneconomic and punitive damages, and a legislative solution to asbestos removal (Rushmann, 2006). There are many lawsuits. But frivolous lawsuits should not be taken seriously and should not cost our courts and citizens time and/or money.