Thank you.

I do ask that we adhere to the schedule as much as possible. Jumping way ahead of the discussion schedule will spoil it for the readers who are just starting to read the novel, or are observing the schedule. Thank you.

P.S. You will find the links in heading to be both informative and interesting.

I was pleased to see that The King of Torts is on their long list for an award. Please scroll down the page. The authors are listed in alphabetic order. Just to make this list says quite a bit about both the author and the novel.The novel was mominated by: Nelson Memorial Public Library, Apia, Samoa I'm sure you will find this site to be of much interest.

Kevin, thank you for finding this fine web site

Scrawler, I'm happy you are going to be here. Your posts are always worthwhile reading.

Carolyn, You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Happy to have you join in.

Pedln, Yes, it is a timely subject, considering how the President signed the new tort laws. I'm looking forward to any posts you do make.

Gosh, we have a room full here.

I was surprised at the amount of work Clay Carter of OPD put forth investigating leads in order to defend his client. But, in reality, I wonder how often this amount of work is practiced. by court assigned counsel for the defendant.

I have heard that the client can ask for a new trial if can produce evidence that his defense attorney was negligent.

In your experience, are most PDs urged to plea bargain>

Claire, I didn't have far to walk to go back in the store. Besides, I wanted the Tuna.

I marveled at the courage Clay had as he toured the neighborhood of Camp D.

I have no doubt that sometimes "evidence" is manufactured in order to convict the defendant. That is why I feel the death penalty should only be given in cases such as the mass murder that Brian Nichols commuted Atlanta GA.

However, there are adverse problems with just about any medication.

When drugs are advertised on TV, I'm amused at the disclamer that is presented by someone speaking rapidly and saying that people with kidney, liver, etc,etc should speak to their doctor before taking the drug. Well, heck, it was the patient's doctor that prescribed the drug.

I wonder just how valid these disclaimers would hold up in a court of law.

Could you tell us something about what you and the other jurors spoke about before reaching a verdict in the murder trial you spoke of?

As you said, money is being thrown about everywhere except in places where it should be spent.

I feel this money waste in the hands of managers, or others, who are not qualified to hold the positions they are in. So many of these money managers are appointed due to the politcal patronage system. I suppose that many of them just don't care.

Nancy, you introduce a chilling thought, when you wrote "Many of the jurors simply wanted to decide one way or the other...."

How often does the IQ or impaticence of jurors affect the verdict? Not only that, but I know some people whose minds are set in concrete and would not really listen to jury deliberations.

And there should be a conformity about taking notes. Some judges allow this others don't. I feel it is a good idea.

It would be interesting to read other comments about what you and I just wrote.

Horselover, I also pay more attention now to the adds drug companies place on TV. Also,I notice more now the adds that attorneys air for class action suites.

Perhaps I can shed a little light on the question you asked as to why Washington, D C was chosen along with Mexico City, Singapore and Belgrade. So I reread the passages that said Washington, D C was chosen for the testing of Tarvan in Africans. Max Pace told Clay Carter that "Information is difficult to obtain in the slums of the area of Mexico." Probably the same could be said about Singapore and Belgrade. Max wanted Clay to understand that Tarvan results were more easily obtainable in the district

Clay probably did have an obligation to reveal what knowledge he discovered pertaining to the Tequila Watson defence. But as Pedlin pointed out, Clay valued the enormous amount of money he could obtain more than his obligation to his former client. Now we begin to see the greed of wealth over shadowing the morale issues.

Bimde

I also know the feeling of drug sales representatives going ahead of me while I waited to see my doctor. Most of us in the waiting room were impatient with this procedure. However,this is inconvenience is more easily accepted because my doctor does give us samples of our prescribed medicine that the reps leave with him.

These samples reduce my prescription costs substanily

Thank you for posting the brief biography of John Grisham. The reading of it tells how often the illusions of the young are shattered when they meet an immovable object.

Pedlin, You know what? I have A Time to Kill sitting right behind me as I type this.

Scrawler, I suppose what you suggested did in away motivate Clay's accepting Max Pace's offer. But I feel the strongest motivation was Clay's overwhelming desire for riches. Can't say as I blame him.

As a follow up for Newvoyager's …"strong dose of ego..."

"…On the way down, the elevator stopped at the third floor. Three men and a woman stepped in, all nicely tailored and manicured and carrying thick expensive leather briefcases, along with the incurable air of importance inbred in big-firm lawyers. Max was so engrossed in his details that he did not see them. But Clay absorbed them—their manners, their guarded speech, their seriousness, their arrogance. These were big lawyers, important lawyers, and they did not acknowledge his existence. Of course, in old khakis and scuffed loafers he did not exactly project the image of a fellow member of the D.C. Bar.

That could change overnight, couldn't it?"

Do you feel this could've been the catalyst that convinced Clay to join Max Pace in the class action suite? Clay was going nowhere in life and seeing these others successful lawyers made him so aware of this. Do you feel that his ego could've been crushed by their lack of acknowledgement?

"Great Abaco Island is a long narrow strip of land at the northern edge of the Bahamas, about a hundred miles east of Florida. Clay had been there once before, four years earlier when he'd scraped together enough money for the airfare. That trip had been a long weekend, one in which Clay had planned to discuss serious issues with his father and discard some baggage. It didn't happen.,"

In this chapter we find that Clay's father is a neer-do-well.

However, in your opinion, do you feel the author could have given Jarrett Carter more of a roll in advising his son.?

Grisham could've sobered the old guy up long for a while. How much more interesting that could've made the story.

'...And Clay's answer is "no" because she married a rich man. What does this say about Clay?"

When Clay's father asked him when he had talked to his mother last, Clay told him it been eleven years. well what does all this say about Clay? It ells me that he TRULY believed he had no mother and father as such. I suppose he would've helped her if she needed help, but after eleven years, I don't think he would go out of his way to help her. Besides, what did his mother think of him? Might as well include the father in that as well.

Pedlin, Clay is alone. He is even being patronized by his fiancés parents. What a case of insecurity this guy must've developed over the years. I'm sure this insecurity prompted him to searc for the money that class action suites offered. Subconsciously, or other wise, he felt he needs the riches that he could obtain through Max and French.

Muriel, I commend yourself discipline for not jogging the lawyer's mind. I'm sure I would've. I'm sorry to hear that your town had some immigration problems. However we are having a little immigration problem ourselves .

Newvoyger, I have the same opinion. More seniors should try to find out as much as possible about the meds they are taking. Along with the prescription container, my pharmacy always includes a brief brochure explaining the adverse affects the med might have and the cashier always tells me the pharmacist will answer any questions I have concening the prescription. I wonder how many take the time to read it or ask the pharmacist about their medication?

"…the Gulfstream sped down the runway and lifted off. Clay used the break to admire the airplane. It was so luxurious and richly detailed that it was almost obscene. Forty, forty-five million dollars for a private jet! And, according to the gossip among the Circle of Barristers, the Gulfstream company couldn't make them fast enough. There was a two-year backlog!"

When Clay realized that an airplane such as this could be his, if he become a successful Tort lawyer, all thoughts of morale obligations for Tequila Watson were pushed from his mind. Also, I'm sure Clay Carter didn't care about the reputation of any established pharmaceutical company that would be ruined due to his law suites.

My question is this:

After being on the low rung of the ladder for so long, can you blame Clay Carter for pursuing wealth instead of having feelings for others?

I must admitt Max isn't the kind of guy that I would want guarding my back in a bad situation.

Aberlaine and Scrawler, you summed up the reason for Clay's mental state very well. In fact, I would say it was right on the mark.

'The Paris adventure cost him $95,300, according to the numbers so carefully kept by Rex Crittle, a man who was becoming more and more familiar with almost all aspects of Clay's life. Crittle was a CPA with a midsized accounting firm situated directly under the Carter suite. Not surprisingly, he too had been referred by, Max Pace.

At least once a week, Clay walked down the backstairs or Crittle walked up them, and they spent a half an hour or so talking about Clay's money and how to properly handle it. An accounting system for the law firm was basic and easily installed. Miss Glick made all the entries and simply ran them down to Grime's computer. In Crittle's opinion, such sudden wealth would most certainly trigger an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Notwithstanding Pace's promises to the contrary."

The first line of this paragraph tells me that Clay has inherited some of the reckless spending nature of his father, and we shall see more of this displayed later in the story. After all, Clay's close associates made a great deal of money on the outcome of the litigation. More than they thought they would ever have. As I read on, I can understand the Van Horne's concern for their daughter. They had a pretty good read on Clay.

Do you feel Rex Crittle was placed in Carter's employ to learn and report to Max the procedures of Clay?

Oh,yea, by this time, he has lost whatever interest he might had in helping others when he was a PD. Clay has seen the sparkle of gold.

Newvoager, I agree with you about Crittle. He kept trying to salvage something of what Clay was getting.

I realize that Clay Carter wanted to get away for a few days before giving Max his decision. But why visit his father. Even on Clay's visit, Carter Sr. displayed his lack of consideration for his son.. Rather than spend sometime with his son, he dragged Clay along so that he could still hobnob and drink with his old cronies. Even the following hang-over morning, J C Carter Sr. left Clay alone on the boat when he was invited to play cards on a luxury yacht. When Clay explained he would rather relax, the old guy replied, "Whatever" and left Clay standing there. The two of them didn't even have a chance to say goodbye..

You see, Friday, March 25th is my birthday.

"He (Crittle) peered over his reading glasses and gave Clay a look he'd seen before. It said, 'Son have you lost your mind?'"

Clay's old friends of OPD days did leave. Probably they were tired. As these old friends watched Clay by a plane for thirty million and hire two pilots at two hundred thousand dollars a year, and a yacht for his father,along with some of his shady doing, they started thinking of leaving.

When Clay met Ridley who proved to be very expensive, I'm not surprised these old friends figured it was bail out time. Perhaps Crittle's look wasn't far from wrong.

Didn't the President recently a new Tort reform law?

Yesterday, I heard on the sport's news program that major league baseball owner signed a shortstop for eighty-five million dollars. This must be the life of the contract. I don't believe even the insanity of major league baseball has reached the point of 85 million a season.

"By John F. Harris and William Branigin Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, February 18, 2005; 12:40 PM

President Bush today signed legislation that rewrites the rules for class-action lawsuits, opening a second-term campaign he said was aimed at "ending the lawsuit culture in our country." In a ceremony to sign the Class Action Fairness Act, which was passed by the House yesterday and became the first bill to be signed by the president in 2005, Bush vowed to work for passage of "meaningful legal reforms" to curb medical malpractice and asbestos lawsuits…."

You can read this interesting article by using the link below.

Just an aside: How many can you identify from the photo?

Kiwi lady, these sports figures don't need that much. It is just a matter of prestige for them. If X is millions of dollars, then Y an Z want more just to prove they are as good are better than X. The same with Tort firms. It's about prestige as well as money.

Scrawler, what you say about a graduated pay for ball players is true about Nation Football League players. But I'm not sure this applies to Major League Baseball players.

Scrawler, I'm more aware of Class Actions suite, also. This morning on TV I watched an attorney advertising a toll free number. It had something to do with Arthritis. My thoughts immediately flashed to the King of Torts.

The author's continued writing of Clay's irresponsible behavior convinced me that Clay was a product of his father and mother. I believe his close associates recognized this and left. I thought Max Pace, French and the other wealthy lawyers also realized this and used him to their advantage.

I don't see how Grisham could expect the reader to accept Clay being capable of operating on this large a scale

Well, I often wonder if this is enough of a disclaimer to absolve the maker of the drug from any damages that the patient may incur to his/her health.

Muriel, are prescription drugs advertised this way in Scotland on television?

Scrawler, yes, March a year ago I started reading Grisham's THE PAINTED HOUSE but I just couldn't get interested in the novel and I stopped reading it about half way through the book.

I found his THE SUMMONS a good read.

Basic Rules That Would Make the System Fairer and More Efficient

The legal system should be designed to compensate those who have suffered harm and be geared toward dispensing justice, not enriching the legal profession financially.

Any damages should be proportional only to the harm caused by each party.

The same laws and rules should apply to all parties involved in a lawsuit.

There should be limits on the ability of political contributors to influence state litigation decisions.

Judges should be fair, competent, and willing to throw out frivolous cases.

What do you folks think of these suggestions?

Does the name "Rex" have a meaning for Grisham? In some of his other stories he has a character by the name of Harry Rex a lawyer in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi that the lead character usually gets advice from.

I know that Harry Rex appeared in "The Summons," "The Last Juror,." and "A Time to Kill." Now we have Rex Crittle. in this story. I'll have to take a look at the authors biography to see if there was someone by the name of Rex in Grisham's life.

By the way, I think you would like "The Summon." It makes for some good light reading.

After all this, it seemed like the author brought the story to a close.

I believed some more lose ends could have been tied up. Maybe I missed something, but did Clay's old associates get the money back they loaned Him?

My thanks to all of you who participated in this discussion. Your posts made it both interesting and informative.formative.

I especially thank Muriel who traveled all the way from Scotland to join us here. If any of you other folks are from other countries, I give you a special thanks also.

I know every time I hear the phrase "class action law suites" I will think of this book and the folks who participated in this discussion.

Many thanks