To this extent the internet risks becoming another arena of litigation, and crisis PR firms might be part of a broader strategy employed in, say, a libel trial.
The so-called decline in credit crisis litigation appears to be limited solely to the federal class-action arena.
The bank's fight with MBIA was, like much of the litigation from the crisis, about who would pay for wagers gone disastrously wrong.
The argument against me is, we've had delayed budgets before, crises, litigation before, it all gets resolved, you're the chicken who cried wolf".
"A loss would have called into question the government's apparent strategy of leaning heavily on civil litigation to handle crisis-related misconduct," said Neil M. Barofsky, a law professor at New York University and former inspector general of the Treasury Department's bank bailout program.
While litigation and budget crises had already set changes in motion, the $10 billion per year corrections system price tag (up 300% from thirty years ago) remained in tact, along with severe racial disparities, increased spending on county jails and a lack of support for prevention in the communities hardest hit by crime.
The lawsuit adds to the hefty legal burden of the bank, which has been badly battered by mortgage-related losses and litigation since the financial crisis.
"The assumption is that for the extra money that you pay for most Whole Foods products, in return you're getting something that's safer, fresher and more nutritious," said Gene Grabowski, head of the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, who has handled several food-recall cases.
He is the co-author of Stop the Presses: The Crisis & Litigation PR Desk Reference and writes for www.BulletproofBlog.com.
