English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

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1

GLOSSARY

to sue – to take someone to court; to go to a legal court and ask the judge to
make someone pay money for having done something wrong or illegal
* Meghan is suing her neighbor because his dog bit her son.

to be served – to officially receive legal papers or notification that one is required
to appear in court
* Many court documents have to be served in person. They cannot be sent via
fax or email.

in-house counsel – a lawyer who works for a company as an employee and
provides legal advice to that company
* In the first few years of business, we worked with a law firm. As our company
grew, we hired a few lawyers and now we only work with in-house counsel.

firm – business or company, especially a company that provides professional
services
* Our consulting firm will help you minimize costs and maximize sales.

to represent (someone) – to speak on behalf of someone, especially in a legal
courtroom, trying to help that person get what he or she wants or needs
* We’re paying you $300 an hour to represent us, so we expect you to know all
the details of our case.

attorney – a lawyer; someone who is trained and educated in the law and is
qualified and authorized to provide legal advice
* Trent wants to be an attorney, but he hasn’t decided whether he wants to
specialize in business law or criminal law.

rundown – a brief summary of something; an overview; the highlights
* The first five minutes of the news program provide a rundown of the day’s major
events.

negligence – failure to use the right amount of care or caution; not taking care of
something as much as one should
* The house has broken windows and a hole in the roof, and is clearly suffering
from the owner’s negligence.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

2

class action – a court case involving one person or a small group of people who
represent a much larger group of people
* Female employees of Wal-Mart charged the company with sex discrimination in
a large civil action suit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

to allege – to make a statement that accuses someone of having done
something; to say that someone has done something wrong or illegal
* Ms. Sanders alleges that Mr. Gonzales hit her car, but she has no proof.

lawsuit – court case; one instance of one person or company suing another
person or company in a legal court
* Three years ago, the company was involved in a lawsuit for copyright
infringement.

merit – value; goodness; worthiness
* Their proposal doesn’t seem to have much merit, so we’re still looking for other
ideas.

frivolous – not serious; without a real or valuable purpose; unimportant
* As a teenager, Mariah was frivolous, only interested in makeup and dating, but
her younger sister was very serious, always studying.

loophole – a part of a law that is poorly written and leaves an opportunity for one
to do something that was not intended by the lawmakers
* The tax attorney found a loophole that saved her clients thousands of dollars.

settlement – an official agreement to end a lawsuit or disagreement, usually with
one person paying another person, but often without admitting guilt or blame
* Even though Shane was innocent, he agreed to the settlement because he
didn’t want to spend any more time or money on the court case.

to get ahead of (oneself) – to begin planning or doing something earlier than
one should, before there is a clear need to do so
* You’ve only been on two dates with Jenna. Don’t you think you’re getting
ahead of yourself by shopping for wedding rings?

to lay off – to reduce the amount or frequency of something; to start doing or
having less of something
* Piotr has gained a lot of weight lately. He needs to lay off the French fries.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

3

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Jerry wish?
a) He wishes he had stayed in the house.
b) He wishes he had a lawyer on staff.
c) He wishes he had listened to his lawyer’s advice.

2. What is a brief rundown?
a) A copy of the first page.
b) A very rapid reading of the entire document.
c) A summary of the most important points.

______________


WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

rundown
The word “rundown,” in this podcast, means an overview or a brief summary of
something: “A good movie review provides a rundown of the film and lets readers
know whether the movie is worth seeing in the theater.” If a building is described
as “run down,” it is not in good condition, usually old and falling apart: “The only
apartments we can afford are really run down.” The phrase “run-down” can also
describe someone who is very tired and does not have much energy: “The
cancer treatments left Sebastian feeling run-down.” Finally, a “run-up” is a period
of times immediately before something important happens: “Politicians spend a
lot of money on television ads in the run-up to the presidential elections.”

to lay off
In this podcast, the phrase “to lay off” means to reduce the amount or frequency
of something, or to start doing or having less of something: “The doctor said I
should lay off high-salt foods if I want to lower my blood pressure.” The phrase
“to lay off” also means to fire someone, or to tell someone that he or she no
longer has a job: “When the company decided to close its manufacturing plant in
Detroit, it had to lay off more than 400 workers.” In basketball, a “lay-up” is a
move where a player throws a ball into a basket from a position under the basket
or very close to it: “Ewan’s lay-up earned the winning point for the game.”

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

4

CULTURE NOTE

The LSAT

The “LSAT” is the “Law School Admission Test,” or the “standardized exam” (a
test taken by people in many different places and at many different times, used
for comparing the test-takers’ performance) for law school applicants. Most law
schools require that students submit their LSAT scores with their application
materials.

The LSAT is designed to determine the test-taker’s ability to succeed in law
school. Specifically, the exam “assesses” (measures and evaluates) test-takers’
abilities in “reading comprehension” (ability to understand what one has read),
“logical reasoning” (ability to analyze arguments) and “verbal reasoning” (ability
to understand and express concepts in words).

The LSAT is “offered” (given; made available) four times each year. Test-takers
complete five 35-minute “multiple choice” (questions followed by four or five
answers to choose from, only one of which is correct) sections and a writing
section. LSAT scores range from a low of 120 to a high of 180. Law schools
generally use a student’s LSAT score in combination with his or her GPA (grade
point average, a summary of grades received in all courses) to select students
for “admission” (an invitation to study at a particular university).

Most students study for the LSAT by “completing practice exams” (taking old
exams to calculate their score) and becoming more familiar with the “format”
(style and organization) of the test. There are many “study guides” (books that
help students study) and teaching centers that offer courses in LSAT preparation.
Students who are “dissatisfied” (not pleased) with their test score can take the
exam up to three times in two years, but all those scores are reported to the
schools.
______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

5

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 780: Being Sued.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 780. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
beautiful Los Angeles, California. How are you today? Me? Pretty good; thank
you for asking.

This episode, like all of our episodes, has a Learning Guide. Oh yes, it does! Go
to eslpod.com. While you’re there, become a member and help support this
podcast. If you’re on Facebook, you can like us at facebook.com/eslpod.

This episode is about being “sued,” when you do something wrong and someone
else wants you to pay money for it. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Ally: Hello, Ally McNeal.

Jerry: Ally, this is Jerry Mason. I need to talk to you right away. We’re being
sued and we’ve just been served. This is one of those times I wish we had in-
house counsel.

Ally: Jerry, you know that our firm will do its best to represent you, as we’ve
done in the past. You can count on me and all of the attorneys in this office.
How about if I come to your office this afternoon and we can discuss it?

Jerry: Okay, that’s great.

Ally: In the meantime, can you give me a brief rundown?

Jerry: Yeah, we’re being sued for negligence. In fact, it’s a class action suit
against our company

Ally: All right. Can you fax or email me the papers so I can see what they’re
alleging?

Jerry: Yes, I can do that. We really need your help with this, Ally. A lawsuit like
this could ruin a company like ours.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

6

Ally: Don’t panic. We’ll take a look at it and see if there’s any merit in the case.
It might just be a frivolous lawsuit.

Jerry: If they have a case, you’ll have to find a loophole to get us out of this, or
negotiate a settlement. The last thing I want is to go to court.

Ally: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll discuss it this afternoon. And
Jerry?

Jerry: Yeah?

Ally: In the meantime, try to lay off the coffee.

[end of dialogue]

Our phone conversation begins with Ally answering the phone, and like a lot of
people do in a professional situation they answer by saying, “Hello,” and then
their name or the name of their company. So Ally says, “Hello, Ally McNeal,” and
the other person says, “Ally, this is Jerry Mason. I need to talk to you right away
(right now).” He says, “We’re being sued.” “To sue (sue) (someone)” as a verb
means to go to the court, to go to a judge and say that this person did something
wrong and they owe you money, they should pay you money for something they
did wrong to you. They hurt you or damaged you or your company in some way.
Not physically damaged, although it could be that, but it could also just be some
sort of financial loss, money that you lost because of something they did. Jerry
says that their company is being sued and we’ve just been served. “To be
served” in this case means to receive legal papers from the court notifying you –
telling you that you are being served or that you must take some sort of legal
action. Jerry says, “This is one of those times (one of those instances or
situations) I wish we had in-house counsel.” “Counsel” (counsel) means a
lawyer, an attorney, someone who is knowledgeable about the law. “In-house”
(in-house) means working for your company. Some companies are big, and they
have their own lawyers and their own accountants. Smaller companies usually
don’t, so they don’t have a lawyer in-house, inside of the company, who works
full time, permanently for the company.

Ally says, “Jerry, you know that our firm will do its best to represent you.” So now
we understand that Ally is someone who works for a company of lawyers – a
group of lawyers. We call a group of lawyers “a group of thieves.” No, I’m just
kidding! We call a group of lawyers a “firm” (firm). The law firm is a group of
lawyers who work together. So Ally says that her firm will do its best to represent
you. “To represent (someone)” in this case means to be their official

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

7

representative. Really, here it just means to be their lawyer, to be their attorney,
to be the person that will give them legal advice. Ally says, “You can count on
me (you can rely on me or depend on me) and all of the attorneys in this office.”
“Attorney” (attorney) is just another word for a lawyer, a little more formal word
perhaps, but they mean the exact same thing. Ally says, “How about if I come to
your office this afternoon and we can discuss it?” What do you think of that idea,
“how about if…?”

Jerry says, “Okay, that’s great.” Ally says, “In the meantime (meaning until that
happens), can you give me a brief rundown?” A “rundown” (rundown – one
word) is a brief summary; a short summary or description of what happened, of
some problem or some event. Jerry says, “Yeah, we’re being sued for
negligence.” “Negligence” (negligence) is when you’re not careful, when you
don’t do what you are supposed to do and then someone gets hurt because of it.
So, if you’re a company and you have a door that’s broken and if you open it you
could hurt yourself. So, someone comes to your building and they open your
door and they hurt themselves, they might sue you for negligence. You should
have been more careful; you should have taken care of the problem. Jerry says
his company is being sued for negligence; it’s a class action suit. A “suit” (suit) is
the legal action of suing someone. The term “class action” usually involves a
court case with more than one person, usually a whole group of people who are
suing you. Often, it can be an entire category of customers. So, some
customers are mad about the way Starbucks serves its coffee, so they file a
class action lawsuit – a class action suit. They’re representing all of the
customers of Starbucks, that’s the idea.

Ally says, “All right. Can you fax or email the papers so I can see what they’re
alleging?” “To allege” (allege) is to say that someone else did something wrong,
to accuse someone else of doing something illegal or wrong. Jerry says, “Yes, I
can do that (I can email you the papers). We really need your help with this, Ally.
A lawsuit like this could ruin a company like ours.” A “lawsuit,” again, is just
another word for a “suit,” which is the legal action that someone takes against
you. When someone sues you, we say they have “filed a lawsuit.”

Ally says, “Don’t panic. We’ll take a look at it and see if there’s any merit in the
case.” “Merit” (merit) is whether it’s of any value, if it’s worth anything, if it’s true.
The word “merit” can also mean excellence, being good at something, or some
accomplishment. Ally says, “It might just be a frivolous lawsuit.” Something that
is “frivolous” (frivolous) is not serious, something that someone does but there
isn’t a good reason to do it. A frivolous lawsuit would be someone suing you
over something that isn’t true or isn’t very important.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

8

Jerry says, “If they have a case (meaning if they might have some merit to their
argument), you’ll have to find a loophole to get us out of this.” A “loophole”
(loophole – one word) is a part of the law that is poorly written or it’s not very
exact, it’s not very precise so that people can find a way to not break the law by
finding some exception to law, by finding some vagueness or some imprecision
in the law that allows them to still do something legally. Jerry says if there is a
case here Ally and her law firm need to find a loophole, or, if they don’t, to
negotiate a settlement. A “settlement” is when a company agrees usually to pay
the person who is suing them some money. They say, “Okay, we won’t go to the
judge, we won’t have a legal case, we’ll just pay you some money and then you’ll
sign a paper saying, ‘I’m not going to sue you anymore.’” Jerry says, “The last
thing I want is to go to court.” That means I don’t want to have a trial, I don’t
want to go to a judge.

Ally says, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” “To get ahead of yourself” means
to start planning or doing something before you should, before you really know
what you’re doing, or before you know you should be doing it. I have a friend
who wants to get his driver’s license. And even before he got his driver’s license,
he went out and he was looking at cars to buy, and I told him, “Don’t get ahead of
yourself,” meaning you can’t buy a car until you get your driver’s license, so don’t
worry about that; start doing the things you should be doing about getting your
driver’s license. That’s getting ahead of yourself.

Ally says, “Jerry?” and Jerry says, “Yeah?” Ally says, “try to lay off the coffee.”
“To lay off” (lay off) is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to reduce the frequency
or amount of something, to do something less. “To lay off (something)” is to do
less of it, in this case to drink less coffee because Jerry’s getting all excited, and
when you drink coffee you get more caffeine, which can get you more excited
than you should be.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Ally: Hello, Ally McNeal.

Jerry: Ally, this is Jerry Mason. I need to talk to you right away. We’re being
sued and we’ve just been served. This is one of those times I wish we had in-
house counsel.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 780 – Being Sued

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2012). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

9

Ally: Jerry, you know that our firm will do its best to represent you, as we’ve
done in the past. You can count on me and all of the attorneys in this office.
How about if I come to your office this afternoon and we can discuss it?

Jerry: Okay, that’s great.

Ally: In the meantime, can you give me a brief rundown?

Jerry: Yeah, we’re being sued for negligence. In fact, it’s a class action suit
against our company

Ally: All right. Can you fax or email me the papers so I can see what they’re
alleging?

Jerry: Yes, I can do that. We really need your help with this, Ally. A lawsuit like
this could ruin a company like ours.

Ally: Don’t panic. We’ll take a look at it and see if there’s any merit in the case.
It might just be a frivolous lawsuit.

Jerry: If they have a case, you’ll have to find a loophole to get us out of this, or
negotiate a settlement. The last thing I want is to go to court.

Ally: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll discuss it this afternoon. And
Jerry?

Jerry: Yeah?

Ally: In the meantime, try to lay off the coffee.

[end of dialogue]

We have the best in-house scriptwriter in podcasting; her name is Dr. Lucy Tse,
and we thank her.

From Los Angeles, California, we thank you for listening. Come back and listen
to us again here on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,
hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2012 by the Center for Educational
Development.