by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC
NAM Arbitration and Mediation in New York City generally has excellent mediators and serves up a pretty good spread as well. However it is the lobby ambience this morning that raises an eyebrow. You see, a television monitor was tuned into a game show (at full volume) featuring silly people doing irrational things with money. Fortunately, after a few hours, someone had the good sense to turn it off.
Unfortunately it fails the "best interest test". Here's why.
Setting aside the irony, such display is inappropriate, whether as ambient noise or something people who pay attention to, it does little to help manage the transition stress of someone with a serious injury, or parents whose child has suffered a serious physical injury or lost a loved one due to a defective product or someone's negligence and endured a lengthy litigation course. It may even hinder the process.
A "one armed bandit" with ear muffs that said "Florida forum shoppers anonymous**" was observed "fleeing the scene".
**Florida based structured settlement cash now companies have been known to induce residents of New York to "relocate" to Florida to sell their payments due to stricter New York courts.