In legal circles, the term “frivolous lawsuit” usually means “any lawsuit filed against me.”
49ers CEO Jed York calls the lawsuit recently filed against him in connection with Chegg Inc. a frivolous lawsuit.
“It’s 18 months old,” York said in a joint interview with the San Jose Mercury News and NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s a completely frivolous lawsuit. . . . I think they’re grasping at straws to bring this out publicly now.”
If that’s the case, York has devices for quickly dispensing of the lawsuit. If it’s not frivolous, it will proceed to trial, barring a settlement.
York is accused in a pair of lawsuits of using nonpublic information to dump the company’s stock before the price dropped.
“I’m proud of our work with Chegg, proud of my work on the board and with its scholarship program,” York said. “I have no doubt this will be taken care of in no time.”
If that’s the case, it will be. The rules of civil procedure contain provisions allowing frivolous lawsuits to be attacked, aggressively. York, if he’s being wrongfully and maliciously sued, has separate potential options available to him under California law.
That’s not to say York did anything wrong. That’s for the legal process to decide. The point is that, in response to many civil lawsuits, the defendant declares the case to be frivolous — even when it really isn’t.
