This idiom can commonly be used in the litigation context. It basically means that a reasonable person would not invest their time, energy and money on an endeavor in which the potential output is outstripped by the input. For example, it would be illogical to invest a substantial sum of money in trying to fix a very old car.
The following excerpt is from a recently decided unpublished appellate opinion:
"In 2010, Dorothy resigned as trustee of the Survivor's trust and appointed her accountant, Terry Hinricher, as successor trustee. The trust provides that upon Dorothy's death, its assets shall be equally divided among her children, Jack Goulden, Laurie Goulden, and Elliot Goulden. Dorothy died in 2014.
In 2012, Jack petitioned to compel Hinricher to prepare an accounting of the trust. (Prob. Code, § 17200, subds. (a), (b)(6) & (7)(C).) Hinricher filed the first account, to which Jack objected. The probate court referred the matter to mediation. In 2014, the parties settled the first account, and the court approved the settlement. The same year, the probate court approved the second account. In 2015, Jack signed a written approval of the third through fifth accounts, and those approvals were filed with the court.
In 2016, Hinricher petitioned for approval of the sixth account, which included trustee fees of $78,398.57 and attorney fees and costs of $9,969.23. Jack objected to the sixth account on the grounds that (1) the trustee fees were excessive, and (2) checks from the trust account were missing or out of sequence. Hinricher filed a supplement to the sixth account, which explained that the missing checks were voided.
In 2017, Hinricher petitioned for approval of the seventh account. The account showed that the entire trust estate had been distributed to the beneficiaries. Hinricher requested an order approving trustee fees of $45,065.70 for the seventh account period. He also requested an order approving attorney fees and costs of $21,916.31 incurred as a result of the ongoing litigation with Jack and Laurie. Hinricher had set aside reserve funds for final expenses, but they only covered a portion of the fees and costs. Hinricher requested that the beneficiaries be "personally charged" with the outstanding balance of the fees and costs. Elliot objected on the grounds that only Jack and Laurie should be personally charged for fees and costs because only they were involved in the litigation. No other objections were filed.
After an evidentiary hearing, the probate court approved the sixth and seventh accounts and the trustee and attorney fees. The court sustained Elliot's objection, and it ordered that the trustee fees incurred from defending the first through fifth account be charged only to Jack and Laurie. The court ordered the remaining balance of fees and costs be "charged" equally among all beneficiaries."
Here the beneficiary challenged the trustee's accounting numerous times. Each time the trustee's accounting was approved by the court. One wonders why the beneficiary consistently challenged the trustee's accounting when no wrongdoing was exposed. It is understandable if the trustee botched a prior accounting which engendered mistrust between the trustee and beneficiary. However, that was not the case here. The trustee complied with their fiduciary duties by submitting an appropriate accounting every time. Hence, one wonders why the beneficiary challenged the latest accounting when the trustee had no track record of mismanaging trust assets. In other words, it appears the beneficiary was throwing good money after bad.
Goulden v. Hinricher, Ventura County Superior Court, Case # 56-2012-00425329-PR-TR-OXN.
