A small Michigan metalcasting operation, Acra Cast, was sued in 2006 by a neighbor claiming contaminants from the facility damaged his five cars, carpet and siding of his house. This was the man’s 24th lawsuit in the county. Acra Cast, which had a clean environmental record with no complaints until then, fought the suit and eventually won. But the cost to defend the business was close to $20,000, a substantial amount for the 15-employee shop.

Acra Cast’s story is the subject of a new video produced by the U.S. Chamber Institute of Legal Reform as part of its Faces of Lawsuit Abuse campaign.

Many similar lawsuits are settled before they make it to court. Acra Cast stood its ground—defending its name and the jobs of its 15 employees. Unfortunately, even in the win the company was penalized. Richard Singer, one of the owners of the company, said, “We spent close to $20,000 defending ourselves during a time when we should have been using the money to buy new equipment and improving our facilities.”

The video is being shown as a movie trailer in Albany, N.Y. and can be viewed online with other similar stories at www.facesoflawsuitabuse.com.