More Pennywise/Pound Stupid

Griselda was injured at a hotel when the chair collapsed.  The hotel was in Trindad, Griselda lived in Jamaica.

When Griselda reached home she had a lawyer write to the Hotel threatening a law suit.

Hotels, as many other venues that have a lot of traffic, attract  a lot of law suits.   To keep the events secret and save a lot a money,  they  try to go ‘behind the lawyer’s back’ .   They strive to get the plaintiff to settle out of court.   They show how wise it is to avoid legal fees.

Hotels, as many other venues that have a lot of law suits, know that many plaintiffs will take less money so as not to pay their lawyer.

In this case, the Trinidad  Hotel, knowing that TT dollars are NOT acceptable in Jamaica, and that the government is under a restriction as to how much U.S. Dollars can be sent out of the country, wrote a cheque  in full settlement of the claim.

The cheque was written for TT dollars and sent to Jamaica.

Now if Griselda had not tried to keep her lawyer out of the picture, the settlement would have had to be made in US dollars.   But hey!  Griselda ‘saved’ legal fees.

Griselda could not get the cheque accepted at any bank, including the Bank of Jamaica.  She was told that had she filed a law suit and a Court ordered the payment, then the money would, by law, have to be converted to U.S. Dollars.   Griselda could carry the stack of U.S. dollars through customs with the Court Order attached.

But Griselda didn’t have a Court Order.   She didn’t even have a lawyer any more.

The Hotel knew, when it made its offer, that if Griselda accepted, it meant she had no lawyer.  No lawyer, no law suit, no Court Case no Court Order, hence, they could write her a cheque that she culd never cash.

So here’s  Griselda with a cheque she can’t cash, with no way to convert the money to a cashable currency.

The Hotel considers the case ‘settled’.

Griselda lost everything all to save  legal fees.