New App Lets You 'Sue Anyone By Pressing a Button' (vice.com) 105
Jason Koebler writes: Do Not Pay, a free service that launched in the iOS App store today, uses artificial intelligence to help people win up to $25,000 in small claims court. It's the latest project from 21-year-old Stanford senior Joshua Browder, whose service previously allowed people to fight parking tickets or sue Equifax; now, the app has streamlined the process. It's the "first ever service to sue anyone (in all 3,000 counties in 50 states) by pressing a button."
I'm sure this won't be abused (Score:2)
The Sovereign Citizen movement is going to love this.
Re:I'm sure this won't be abused (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't really matter much (Score:2)
Re:I'm sure this won't be abused (Score:5, Funny)
The Sovereign Citizen movement is going to love this.
Can I use the app to sue the app?
Re: (Score:3)
Yes, but then the app can sue you, or at least sue your app, leading your app to sue their app in an appy loop of appy app apps.
Apps!
Perhaps the whole legal system will devolve into some kind of app-based card trading game, or if someone sues you, you can send Charmander in to court to fight for you.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, but then the app can sue you, or at least sue your app, leading your app to sue their app in an appy loop of appy app apps.
Apps!
Perhaps the whole legal system will devolve into some kind of app-based card trading game, or if someone sues you, you can send Charmander in to court to fight for you.
Maybe we can create a recursive loop that will destroy the whole law suit system!
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, if it suits you.
Re: (Score:2)
Will there be a counter app to defend yourself from a Law Suit.
A key part of the Justice System is the Idea of Justice, not just blindly following the laws, which I feel today has sadly been ignored.
A law could say you could be fined so much for a violation of a law, however justice needs to take a look on why the law was violated and if it is just to be punished for the violation of the law or at the said amount.
However in today society too much of the revenue for the government is from fines, and they are
Re: (Score:2)
Sovereign Citizen movement
I had to look that up. Now I have a bruise on my forehead from *facepalm*ing so hard. There are actually people in this country who believe that nonsense? Do they actually believe, for instance, that they can get away with murdering someone, so long as they have a 'justification' for it?
Re: I'm sure this won't be abused (Score:2)
You need to search for them on YouTube. Instead of facepalming you'll be laughing your ass off.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I mean, it is a conflict of interest. Kind of like how insurance companies try really hard to avoid paying out claims.
Re: I'm sure this won't be abused (Score:2)
Time to incorporate (Score:4, Interesting)
Own nothing.
Control everything.
Re: (Score:2)
We had this in the UK for maybe two decades now, although the Small Claims Court goes back further. You submit a simple online form and pay the fee (last time I checked it was £30, which the other party pays if you win).
You can use it to claim money from anyone or any organization for any reason. It's largely risk free, you don't need a lawyer (the judges are generally sympathetic and they keep the procedural stuff to a minimum) and if you lose you don't normally have to pay the other party's co
Comment removed (Score:3)
Re:With great power... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:With great power... (Score:5, Informative)
So its basically TruboTax for small claims cases. 1993 called and they'd like their definition of amazing back.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Oh good so in other words you $30 investment in Turbo Tax means the fields are at least correctly mapped from the interview to the form; and verified by humans. Meanwhile with this a computer that does not really "understand" has done it and it might be mostly right most of the time if you are luck. Oh well you get what you pay for I guess
Re: (Score:3)
then you need to print it out, then you need to submit it to the courthouse, then you need to appear in court.
Unfortunately for everyone on the end of a frivolous suit made even easier by this, they have to appear in court too.
Re: (Score:2)
So you are saying that their is still time to apply for a patent for a single click litigation application?
Re: (Score:2)
Most big corporations are incorporated in Delaware, and have their actual headquarters somewhere else, e.g. Silicon Valley. In general a state court or federal court will accept jurisdiction if there is "significant" commercial presence within the region.
Obviously it has to be possible or there would not be favorite courts for, say, plaintiffs filing suits over patent violations.
If you, say, bought a widget via Amazon from a non-big business in another state, I have my doubts that things will work out for
Bummer - won't work (Score:2)
Re:Bummer - won't work (Score:5, Funny)
"Unfortunately my iPhone is a 4s and it needs iOS 11.0. How can I sue anyone if I can't even afford to upgrade my 4s? Truly the system is stacked against people like me"
1. Buy an iPhone XS.
2. Sue Apple
3. Return Xs
4. Profit
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Bummer - won't work (Score:4, Funny)
Good thinking. I should get all my advice from Slashdot from now on.
Ye gods, no, please, not all your advice. Only get all your LEGAL advice from Slashdot.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Speaking of which, should I get the Kessel Run Millennium Falcon or the Join The Rebel Alliance set?
Re:Bummer - won't work (Score:4, Funny)
Ye gods, no, please, not all your advice. Only get all your LEGAL advice from Slashdot.
Also advice on women. Slashdot’s got a lot of users knowledgeable regarding women.
Re: (Score:2)
Ye gods, no, please, not all your advice. Only get all your LEGAL advice from Slashdot.
Also advice on women. Slashdot’s got a lot of users knowledgeable regarding women.
Oddly enough, some of the best advice on meeting women as a geek came from /. (McGrew IIRC) but this was many, many years ago.
./ couldn't find their sisters tits with a flashlight and an up pointing arrow around her naval.
Modern
Re: (Score:2)
Good thinking. I should get all my advice from Slashdot from now on.
That's what I do, and so far it's worked out gr&*$&%*@# NO CARRIER
Re: (Score:2)
Is this 1998?
Re: (Score:2)
1998 is like September, or high school - it never *really* ends.
Re: (Score:3)
You should sue the maker of the app to support your phone.
Re: (Score:3)
I'm not sure how to do that. It would be really helpful if someone made an app to do it for me.
Re: (Score:2)
it's a litte more than just push a button (Score:2, Interesting)
you have to feed in all sorts of details and mail the documents to the appropriate place and you may end up being called to court... but with the push of a button it seems anyone can start the process
Re: (Score:2)
"you have to feed in all sorts of details and mail the documents to the appropriate place and you may end up being called to court... but with the push of a button it seems anyone can start the process"
It begins...
Soon millions of lawyers will die from hunger. Can't wait.
Re: (Score:2)
No the number of frivolous claims will go up and they will probably make more defending the people who have frivolous claims filed against them using the app.
Re: (Score:2)
The court system is already overburdened by frivolous lawsuits, in a year or two you perhaps won't be able to get a court date within your lifetime.
Unfortunately instead of starving liars....err,...lawyers I fear it may cause a population explosion of lawyers.
Multi generational lawsuits anyone?
But I think it still requires a reason ... (Score:2)
Was this really needed? (Score:3)
Does the United States really need a service that makes suing people easier? Automation that removes "natural" limits of process rates (like the time/effort to file a suit) often cause disruption in other parts of the system that haven't evolved to handle the load that can be presented once the "natural" limit is removed. Or perhaps this was the intent?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps it will finally force a needed change. Once a suit is filed, but before the defendant gets involved, a judge should determine if the suit has any merit on it's face. If not, the suit is squashed and the would-be defendant just gets a letter telling them who tried to sue them and for what.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a fine balance between not wanting frivolous lawsuits flying all over the place and the fact that some companies rely on people not suing them as part of their business model. Parking fines are a good example, often they are bogus but many people just pay up because they don't know they can just file a lawsuit and it will magically go away.
Will there be a counter-sue button (Score:2)
I wonder if there will be counter-sue for barrarty feature.
Re: (Score:2)
Isn't that covered under insurance fraud?
Barratry: fraud or gross negligence of a ship's master or crew at the expense of its owners or users.
Re: (Score:3)
Second definition:
vexatious litigation or incitement to it.
(rolls eyes) (Score:2)
While I really admire their parking ticket and flight refund finder....I'm not so high on this one.
Yes, because the ability to sue people at the press of an app button is what our legal system needed.
This is the App for me. (Score:4)
I'm so tired of businesses thinking they can screw-over customers & get away with it. I'd also like to sue the telemarketer that keeps calling my cellphone every day, even though I told them "Put me on you Do Not Call list". Per US Law if they continue calling, then they can be fined in small claims.
Re: (Score:2)
So file the complaint with the FTC [donotcall.gov], and give the Government their chance at collecting the $20k fine per incident.
Re: (Score:2)
Correction: It's the oddly-specific $41,484 per call
Re: (Score:3)
The Ts & Cs you signed (Score:3)
Sorry my friend, but this app is useless as a tool against businesses.... The moral of the story is elections have consequences.
Re: (Score:3)
Arbitration clauses don't stop you from rejecting the Arbitrator's solution & going to court.
Forgot to mention block chain! (Score:1)
Will not use.
Re: nuclear option (Score:1)
"America! ... F*** Yeah ! " (Score:1)
I couldn't help but hear this as soon as i read the title
How does it serve the complaint? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Uber's next business plan!
Filing is no big deal, collecting is the problem (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If you can show you have made attempts to serve the person and their location is unknown you could do it through a Posting or Publication depending on your State's laws.
Re: (Score:2)
No it doesn't (Score:2)
Unless it's in the same sense that a typewriter lets you "sue anyone" by pushing buttons:
After that, Do Not Pay draws up documents specific to that legal area, and fills in the specific details. Just print it out, mail it to the courthouse
Re: (Score:3)
I think it would all be considered pro se representation since it isn't actually giving legal advice necessarily just providing the forms and scripts for one to do it themselves. Technically even if they did have an issue with that, if an attorney provided that initial information (which I would assume they did though TFA didn't mention it specifically) it would be perfectly fine I believe. As always, I am not an attorney, merely a surfer of the interwebs that half-assedly can parse legal jargon. I may