Lawsuit pre-emption: no Big Mac attacks.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Citings

SHOULDN'T PEOPLE KNOW that if they eat too much they'll get fat? Maybe, concedes John Banzhaf, a George Washington University law professor who promotes lawsuits against fast food chains. But as Banzhaf points out, tort law is no longer based on what's reasonable. Shouldn't people know that it's dangerous to use a hair dryer in the bathtub, put their hands under a running lawn mower; or drive a car before removing the sun screen from the windshield?

Given the legal environment that has generated explicit warnings about these and other obvious hazards, many members of Congress no longer trustthe courts to throw out frivolous lawsuits. In April the House of Representatives approved the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which would block litigation aimed at holding gun makers responsible for violent crime. In June a House subcommittee held hearings on the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, which would prevent fat people from winning damages by blaming restaurants, food manufacturers, or retailers for their portliness.

Both bills have been criticized for violating the principles of federalism by interfering with cases in state courts. Defenders of the firearm bill argue that the interference is justified because litigation aimed at setting national gun control policy through the courts upsets the proper balance between federal and state authority, violates the separation of powers between the...