Sorry if this has already been posted before.
Whatever happened to common sense in a country so full of lawyers? Also, the Stella winner would be a good candidate for the Darwin award as well me thinks. Enjoy...
http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp
It's once again time to review the winners of the annual StellaAwards.
The
Stellas' are named after 81 year old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee
on
herself and successfully sued McDonald's.
That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous successful
lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately the most recent lawsuit
implicating McDonald's, the teens who allege that eating at McDonald's
has
made them fat, was filed after the 2003 award voting was closed.This
suit
will top the 2004 awards list without question.
THIS YEAR'S AWARDS GO TO
5TH PLACE (TIED)
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $780,000 by a jury of
her
peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running
inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably
surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving toddler was
Ms.Robertson's Son.
5TH PLACE (TIED)
19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses
when
his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman
apparently
did not notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was
trying
to steal the hubcaps.
5TH PLACE (TIED)
Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had
just
finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the
garage
door to go up since the automatic door Opener was malfunctioning. He
could
not re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and
garage
locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation and
Mr.Dickson
found himself locked in the garage for 8 days. He subsisted on a case
of
Pepsi he found and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the
homeowner's
insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish.The
Jury
agreed to the tune of $500,000.
4TH PLACE
Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500 and
medical
expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
neighbor's
Beagle dog. The Beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard.The
award
was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been a
little
provoked at the time as Mr. Williams, who had climbed over the fence
into
the yard, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
3RD PLACE
A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her
coccyx
(tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown
it
at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier, during an argument.
2ND PLACE
Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a Night Club in a
neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor
and
knocked out two of her front teeth. This occurred whilst Ms. Walton
was
trying to sneak in the window of the Ladies Room to avoid paying
the$3.50
cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.
1ST PLACE
This year's runaway winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new Winnebago Motorhome.On
his
trip home from an OU football game, having driven onto the freeway,he
set
the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go
into
the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the RV left
the
freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not
advising him in the owner's manual that he could not actually do this.
The
jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new Winnebago Motorhome. The
company
actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit just in case
there
were any other complete morons buying their recreational vehicle
Whatever happened to common sense in a country so full of lawyers? Also, the Stella winner would be a good candidate for the Darwin award as well me thinks. Enjoy...
http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp
It's once again time to review the winners of the annual StellaAwards.
The
Stellas' are named after 81 year old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee
on
herself and successfully sued McDonald's.
That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous successful
lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately the most recent lawsuit
implicating McDonald's, the teens who allege that eating at McDonald's
has
made them fat, was filed after the 2003 award voting was closed.This
suit
will top the 2004 awards list without question.
THIS YEAR'S AWARDS GO TO
5TH PLACE (TIED)
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $780,000 by a jury of
her
peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running
inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably
surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving toddler was
Ms.Robertson's Son.
5TH PLACE (TIED)
19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses
when
his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman
apparently
did not notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was
trying
to steal the hubcaps.
5TH PLACE (TIED)
Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had
just
finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the
garage
door to go up since the automatic door Opener was malfunctioning. He
could
not re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and
garage
locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation and
Mr.Dickson
found himself locked in the garage for 8 days. He subsisted on a case
of
Pepsi he found and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the
homeowner's
insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish.The
Jury
agreed to the tune of $500,000.
4TH PLACE
Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500 and
medical
expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
neighbor's
Beagle dog. The Beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard.The
award
was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been a
little
provoked at the time as Mr. Williams, who had climbed over the fence
into
the yard, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
3RD PLACE
A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her
coccyx
(tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown
it
at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier, during an argument.
2ND PLACE
Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a Night Club in a
neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor
and
knocked out two of her front teeth. This occurred whilst Ms. Walton
was
trying to sneak in the window of the Ladies Room to avoid paying
the$3.50
cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.
1ST PLACE
This year's runaway winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new Winnebago Motorhome.On
his
trip home from an OU football game, having driven onto the freeway,he
set
the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go
into
the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the RV left
the
freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not
advising him in the owner's manual that he could not actually do this.
The
jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new Winnebago Motorhome. The
company
actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit just in case
there
were any other complete morons buying their recreational vehicle
