Gas cans are the hottest items in the northeast now that hundreds of thousands are still without power weeks after Superstorm Sandy struck. Unfortunately, they are becoming hard to find thanks to frivolous lawsuits putting the largest supplier out of business.

The company’s closure has resulted in a shortage of gas cans for purchase or use in the disaster areas of the northeast, and in the US as a whole. Though product shortages have been commonplace in former Soviet-bloc countries, this is unusual in the US.

The company, Blitz U.S.A., is a 50-year-old American business that has closed its doors and laid off all 117 employees. Blitz U.S.A. provided 75% of all gas canisters to the US, a feat which industry insiders say is only possible when a company does everything right.

A swarm of lawsuits hit the company since last March, mostly due to injuries from individuals pouring gas directly onto a lit fire. All but two were thrown out of court for frivolity. Unfortunately, the successful outcomes for the company in the courts did not stop insurance rates from increasing to fiscally unbearable rates. (Read More)

I don’t know what’s the worst here. Is it the lawyers who take these cases, the idiots who pour gasoline on fires, or a culture that says it’s acceptable to sue people after doing really stupid things?

So much for my plan to hoard gas in preparation for the looming economic downturn.