This ws e-mailed to me, I hope it aint rehashed.Its pretty sad though,if they are true:
The "Stella" awards rank up there with the Darwin awards.
Stella Liebeck is the 81 year old lady who spilled coffee on
herself and sued McDonalds. This case inspired an annual
award - The "Stella" Award - for the most frivolous lawsuits
in the U.S. The following are this year's candidates:
1. January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was
awarded $78,000 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 little tyke was Ms.
Robertson's son.
2. June 1998: A 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 didn't notice there was someone at
the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his
neighbor's hubcaps.
3. October 1998: A 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 couldn't re-enter the house because
the door connecting the house and garage locked when
he pulled it shut.
The family was on vacation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked
in the garage for eight 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 half a
million dollars.
4. October 1999: 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. The
beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced-in yard.
The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog
might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr.
Williams who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
5. May 2000: 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. The
beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson threw it at
her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
6. December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware
successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring
city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and
knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms
Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies
room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was
awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.
And the winner is:
Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November 2000 Mr.
Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor
home. On his first trip home, having joined the freeway, he
set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers
seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee.
Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and
overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising
him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was
awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie.
(Winnebago actually changed their handbooks on the back
of this court case, just in case there are any other complete
morons buying their vehicles...)
Peace
Lounatik
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