Litigious Dennis a Menace to Jobs, the Economy

Vying for a citation among other “Dishonorable Mentions” in the next Judicial Hellholes report, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has filed a $150,000 lawsuit against the operators of the cafeteria in the U.S. House of Representatives, claiming an unpitted olive in a sandwich wrap caused him “serious and permanent dental and oral injuries requiring multiple oral and dental surgeries,” according to documents filed with the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

But an apparent cavity in this toothy case is the fact that C-SPAN video, posted and critiqued by Gawker, shows the congressman five days after the alleged olive pit incident, “look[ing] fine and talk[ing] normal!”

A spokesman for Mr. Kucinich has reportedly said the congressman “has no comment other than to say this is a private legal matter.” 

Well here’s a news flash for both the lawmaker and his spokesman: No seemingly petty six-figure lawsuit filed by a member of Congress with gold-plated dental insurance and a history of litigiousness remains a private matter for very long — especially when this type of costly lawsuit abuse acts to decay further our struggling economy’s capacity to grow and create much needed jobs.  In any case, jobseekers, taxpayers and voters back home in Mr. Kucinich’s Cleveland district surely won’t see it as a private matter.

If the congressman is smart, he’ll take a page from the playbook of a New York state senator, Jim Alesi, who recently withdrew his own similalrly boneheaded lawsuit against a small contracting business in his Rochester district as soon as voters starting screaming in protest.