What is reasonable?

THE term 'reasonable' is subjective and, therefore, cannot be defined. Each party may think it has a reasonable argument and the other party is being unreasonable, writes Bill Ridgeway.

There needs to be a way of resolving this [continuous cruising distance] stalemate. The test of reasonableness used in courts is the view of a man on the Clapham Omnibus—a hypothetical person, reasonably educated, intelligent but nondescript person.

 

For more information see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_man_on_the_Clapham_omnibus

The walls of some solicitors' offices are adorned with a series of cartoons lampooning the profession. One in particular I remember features a cow. At one end is a litigant pulling its tail and at the other end a litigant pulling its head. In the middle is a lawyer milking the beast. That says a lot about the legal profession.