May 2, 2008

The media coverage goes poof, too. Our Shopfloor.org post on the dismissal of Raelyn Campbell's $54 million lawsuit against Best Buy for a lost laptop garnered minimum notice by the news media.

The estimable Marc Fisher wrote an entry at his Washington Post blog, "Raw Fisher." Covering a hometown company, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune also took note in a news brief, as did the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

And that's it, so far and too bad. One of the factors that should discourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits is negative publicity, even ridicule. Campbell had a brief moment in the spotlight based on her snort-inducing $54 million demand -- look at all the news and blog references -- but when the suit was dismissed, she escaped media attention and the useful opprobrium it might have generated.

In the future, some publicity-hungry, offended consumer might look at Campbell's experience and say to himself, "Well, I'll lose, but at least I'll be on TV. It's worth it to me."

Crossposted from Shopfloor.org.