Have the loser of the case pay BOTH sides' court costs, and lawsuits like this don't happen.

I have heard that argument before, and at one time even agreed with it. But there is a serious downside... what about the person who has the legitimate complaint. Would you want to sue a really deep-pocketed entity for, say, a piece of wire in your food that lacerated your gums and required expensive oral surgery to repair? Sure, you say. But would you do it if the restaurant could and would mount literally a multi-million dollar defense effort that could overwhelm any litigation you might be able to present with your limited resources, knowing that you would be absolutely, irrevocably financially destroyed if you didn't prevail?

Remember, justice does not always win out in the American legal system. Which reminds me... has O.J. found the real killers yet?

On a different tack:

Tracey Johnstone, owner of Johnstone Foods, said she never before had a bagel complaint and had no idea how it could have been prepared in a way that would damage teeth. "It's a bagel," she said.

Well, to me a bagel is just a really stale donut, with all the good stuff scraped off the outside of it. Why would anybody want to buy and eat one in the first place?

tanstaafl.