Change the name of the lawsuit in this story, and this could be just about any story to come out of this particular courtroom in recent time: ((link...))

Is there any way to determine what the average length of a court case is in this division of Blount County Courts compared to a similar division in a county of the same size? Anecdotally, it just seems like a quagmire in there.

It’s been a tough battle for Satterfield — with dismissals, appeals and reversals — that has dragged on in the legal system for more than four years.

I guess noone ever said Lady Justice was swift.

Sadly, in this case, the plaintiff actually died (in 2005) before the matter could be decided, and the judge dismissed the case after her death (not because she died, apparently). Fortunately for her father, carrying on the lawsuit in her name, there's an Appeals Court:

Blount County Circuit Court Judge W. Dale Young dismissed the suit in March 2006, but Satterfield’s attorneys immediately filed an appeal. In April 2007, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed Young’s decision, reinstated the lawsuit and charged ALCOA with the cost of the appeal.

(link...)