Sometimes
the
legal
universe
gifts
us
a
moment
of
pure,
uncut
joy…
the
kind
of
cosmic
alignment
where
the
docket
reads
less
like
a
court
filing
and
more
like
a
setup
for
a
joke
you’re
pretty
sure
you
can’t
tell
at
the
office.
And
today,
friends,
that
moment
arrives
courtesy
of
a
lawsuit
captioned
Dicks
v.
Kuntz.
Yes.
Really.
Dicks.
Versus.
Kuntz.
case
caption
that
launched
a
thousand
suppressed
giggles.
Listen,
this
is
all
extremely
serious
business
for
the
litigants,
who
were
involved
in
a
car
crash,
and
the
case
will
proceed
with
the
requisite
judicial
solemnity.
But
let’s
be
honest:
every
attorney
who
has
touched
this
file
has
had
to
fight
back
at
least
one
involuntary
snort-laugh.
And,
let’s
be
fair
to
the
families
here,
because
the
Dickses
and
the
Kuntzes
have
almost
certainly
endured
a
lifetime
of
juvenile
jokes,
deliberate
mispronunciations,
eyebrow
raises,
and
roll
calls
from
hell.
To
have
the
two
names
collide
in
a
single
case
caption
is
an
absurd
coincidence
the
universe
cooked
up
with
a
smirk.
So
of
course,
we
wish
both
parties
well
in
resolving
their
deeply
normal,
absolutely
un-funny
underlying
dispute.
But
the
caption?
The
caption
is
a
masterpiece.
A
work
of
art.
A
rare
gift
in
a
world
of
Smiths
and
Williams
and
Joneses.
Long
live
the
docket.
Long
live
the
clerk
who
entered
this
without
bursting
into
laughter.
And
may
Dicks
v.
Kuntz
take
its
rightful
place
among
the
great
case-caption
hall-of-famers.
It’s
reminder
that
sometimes
the
law
can
still
surprise
us,
delight
us,
and,
yes,
make
us
giggle
like
12-year-olds.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].