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Deep pocket is an American
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
term; it usually means "extensive financial wealth or resources". It is typically used in reference to big companies or organizations (e.g. the American
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
companies have "deep pockets"), although it can be used in reference to wealthy individuals (e.g.,
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
, Warren Buffett). In the context of a lawsuit, the deep pocket is often the target
defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one juris ...
, even when the true (
moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...
)
culpability In criminal law, culpability, or being culpable, is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible for action and inaction. It has been noted that the word ''culpability'' "ordinarily has ...
is with another party because the deep pocket has money to pay a verdict. For example, a lawyer may comment that they sued the manufacturer of a product rather than the seller because the manufacturer has the deep pockets, meaning it has more money than the seller with which to compensate the victim and profit the attorney.


Deep pocket as a slang term

The term “deep pockets” (also given as “deep pocket” and “deep pocketed") is attested sparsely in the 1940s through the 1960s, but became popular with the litigation explosion of the 1970s. A person with “short arms and deep pockets” is a person (sometimes derided as “miserly” or “cheap") who saves money and doesn't often spend it. The term “short arms and deep/long pockets” is cited in print from at least 1952. In Ireland, this phrase was attached to a wealthy businessman from Tipperary who, upon his round of drinks, would break his glass on the floor, knowing the owner of the pub would ask him to leave. This was also called the “O’Shea Fiddle”.


Deep pocket in law and economics

Deep pocket is a concept often used in the law and economics of
tort law A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with crime ...
. It refers to the idea that the
risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
of an activity should be borne by a person who is in a relatively good position to handle it. This can be achieved by either spreading the risk over a large number of risk-bearers (usually by means of
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
), or by imposing it on a person who is relatively risk-neutral. The latter is often assumed to be the case for wealthy individuals or large corporations, who are referred to as having "deep pockets", since their wealth will not be affected very strongly if the risk materializes. For example, a deep-pocket argument might, among other arguments, be used to justify product liability, as producers with "deep pockets" will normally be better able to accommodate the risk of damages than individual consumers not endowed with "deep pockets". In 2014, the Supreme Court of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
labeled such legal theories ''deep pocket jurisprudence''. A review found four types of application: * ''Innovator liability'' holds an inventor of a product liable for the harms caused when others independently manufacture the same product. * Governments may sue manufacturers and anyone in the
supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
, holding them broadly liable for harms caused by independent misuse or abuse of a product. * Businesses may be held liable for harms caused by employees of independent contractors. * When the true party at fault for misusing a product is unable to pay for harms they caused, the manufacturer may be held liable on a speculative theory of the product design contributing to a mishap. A variation on the term refers to the special subtype of frivolous litigation where plaintiffs target wealthy or corporate defendants for little other reason than them having high resources. These cases involve plaintiffs who have suffered genuine damages, but what is considered the "true" culpability lies squarely with an individual or small entity who has very little money that could be collected if the suit was won. Instead, the plaintiff targets the nearest marginally related large corporation or wealthy defendant, often with a weak accusation of
negligence Negligence ( Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances. Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a neg ...
. A popular example is a person being shot by a criminal, and suing the manufacturer of the firearm instead of their attacker. Sometimes legislation is passed to prevent such lawsuits, such as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.


See also

* Judgment proofing, a maneuver in which a "deep pocket" positions wealth to escape liability. * Lady Justice, whose blindfold represents no bias for a claimant's status, such as wealth or poverty. * Safe harbor laws and regulations, which provide immunity from liability for compliant products and practices.


References

* '' Guido Calabresi: The Cost of Accidents: A Legal and Economic Analysis, Yale University Press, 1970.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Deep Pocket Law and economics Tort law Informal legal terminology