Under the counter

So sue meAs readers may recall, last week I mentioned that I had been back in touch with my American brother-in-law, Colt Q Armistead III. Well it's just as well I did re-establish relations with my steak-guzzling semi-relative, as this week I have been called on to describe a couple of things that really do require a US perspective, if only because those of us from the mother country will not understand what on earth is going on. For instance, I had always been somewhat sceptical of the old line that Americans will sue each other over a parking space or a spilled beer (actually that one is probably understandable). But I noticed a story last week describing the unusual situation of CME apparently suing itself. It turns out that this is no more than the search for a legal resolution to a spare $57m...