............... And there is nothing wrong with our legal system

[gbeaumont]

The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in USA ). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States . Here is this year's winners! (Keep in mind...These are supposed to be true!)

5th Place (tie):
Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas , was awarded $80,000 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 toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

5th Place (tie):
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.

5th Place (tie):
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, and 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 $500,000. In my opinion this is so outrageous that it should have been 2nd Place !

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. 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 just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and 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 , 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.

1st Place :
This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago (RV) motor home. On her first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The Winniebago company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

(Courtesy Jerry Peck: posted on another site)

Regards

Gerry

[Carl Pennick]

There is a new winner!
A women is suing the makers of Starburst. She clams that the candy is so chewy she hurt her jaw.

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by cpennick

There is a new winner!
A women is suing the makers of Starburst. She clams that the candy is so chewy she hurt her jaw.

Like the man said.............. "you just can't fix STUPID!!!"

But it looks like you can reward it

Regards

Gerry

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by gbeaumont

The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in USA ). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States . Here is this year's winners! (Keep in mind...These are supposed to be true!)
http://www.stellaawards.com/

5th Place (tie):
Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas , was awarded $80,000 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 toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

5th Place (tie):
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.
http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html

5th Place (tie):
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, and 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 $500,000. In my opinion this is so outrageous that it should have been 2nd Place !

http://www.vamedmal.com/library/Debu...ice_System.pdf

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. 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 just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and 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.

( http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html)

2nd Place :
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.
( Stella Awards: Decidedly NOT the Stellas )
1st Place :
This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago (RV) motor home. On her first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The Winniebago company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

(http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3447 )

(Courtesy Jerry Peck: posted on another site)

Regards

Gerry

Gerry I think you have been had these stories just get blown out and like the every ready Bunny just keep going & going & going

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by rcooke

Gerry I think you have been had these stories just get blown out and like the every ready Bunny just keep going & going & going

Hi Roy, good point I should have done some due dilligence, however like the reporter in your last link said:

My having fallen for this "urban legend" points to more due diligence to fact-checking. Without making any excuses whatsoever for my lapse in due diligence, let's look at it.

Thirty, 40 or 50 years ago, no one in their right mind would have believed the Merv Grazinski urban legend possible, but not so today. Personal responsibility has taken a back seat in our increasingly immoral and litigious society. Consider some actual lawsuits researched at (www.overlawyered.com).
The wife of a hockey fan who crashed his car after drinking too much at a Minnesota Wild game has sued the team, saying her husband who was paralyzed in the Feb. 8, 2002, auto crash shouldn't have been served so much alcohol.

According to the July 10, 2002, Akron Beacon Journa, "Two carpet installers who admit they read the label of an adhesive they used, admit they understood the adhesive was flammable and should not be used inside, used it inside anyway, caused an explosion, were burned badly, sued and won $8 million dollars."

According to the April 18, 2003, Indianapolis Star: "A convicted robber is suing the convenience store clerk who shot him as he fled after a holdup. Willie Brown, 44, claimed the clerk acted 'maliciously and sadistically' in firing five shots as Brown ran out of Zipps Deli with money from the store's cash register." Brown, who has earlier convictions for robbery and burglary, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to four years in prison.

In Galveston, Texas, a jury awarded $65 million to the parents and estate of a woman who drowned after her car rolled off a boat ramp. She couldn't disengage her seat belt. The jury found Honda of America Manufacturing Co. Inc. and Honda R & D Co. Ltd. 75 percent responsible for the death of Karen Norman, even though her blood-alcohol level measured at nearly twice the Texas legal limit (.17). Fortunately, an appeals court threw out the award, which a trial judge had previously reduced to $43 million.

Then there's the infamous McDonald's case, where Stella Liebeck purchased hot coffee, placed it between her legs, spilling it and scalding herself, and was awarded $2.9 million for her troubles. Clearly, she was at fault, but George Mason University Law Professor Richard Bernstein points out that a proximate cause for her injury was the fact she was wearing a cotton sweat suit that absorbed the coffee and held it close to her body. However, if she were wearing a Gore-Tex suit, or some other liquid resistant material, she would have suffered no injuries. Bernstein asks what's the tort principle that holds McDonald's responsible but not the sweat suit manufacturer?

None of these cases, and many others, differs in principle from the Merv Grazinski urban legend. What's common to all of them is the absolution or the attempt at absolution from personal responsibility. Are people to be held responsible for their actions? In the case of tobacco use, it's not the smoker who's responsible for his illness, it's tobacco companies. In the case of obesity, it's not the individual, but fast food companies and food manufacturers who are responsible. It's the same with criminal violence -- the gun manufacturer is partly to blame.

What does all this say for the future of our nation?

Regards

Gerry

[Michael Larson]

From the Stellawards site.

http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html


Snopes.com entry.

http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

[John Bowman]

This was just sent to me and seemed to be fitting.

Black and White
(Under age 40? You won't understand.)

You could hardly see for all the snow,

Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go.

Pull a chair up to the TV set,

"Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet."

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the
same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem
to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to
eat it raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax
paper in a brown paper bag, not in icepack coolers, but I can't remember
getting e.coli

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake
instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail
cell, and a pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE.. and risked permanent injury with a
pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym)
instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion
soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but
they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now.

Flunking gym was not an option... even for stupid kids! I guess
PE must be much harder than gym.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national
anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of
negative attention.

We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaicc
health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and
everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I
was allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play
Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when
I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant
construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent
bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting
like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked.

Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose
of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue
the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it
was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we
did, we got our butt spanked there and then we got butt spanked again
when we got home.

I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his
tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom
know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and
swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told
that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have
known that?


We needed to get into group therapy and anger management
classes? We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we
didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did
we ever survive?

[klott]

When I pulled trailers for fema I heard at least 5 variations of the winnebago story, but sadly there are the true storys that are worse. About 8 years ago in the middle of a custody battle,(between him and our daughter) my ex son in law went to the Walton county sheriffs dept and tried to get my wife and i arrested on a false claim,(we had the truth on video) to his amazement he got arrested on an old kid napping warrant that was supposed to have been dismissed by the district attorney. He sued me for attorney fees and court cost to get him out of jail. He won, the judge said it was my fault the son in law went to file false charges at the sheriffs dept and was arrested. True story! I will never respect the law anymore! True statement!

[klott]

Originally Posted by jbowman

This was just sent to me and seemed to be fitting.

Those were the good old days when you could walk to the bus stop and wear underwear on the inside.

[W. Michael Chris]

Originally Posted by klott

When I pulled trailers for fema I heard at least 5 variations of the winnebago story, but sadly there are the true storys that are worse. About 8 years ago in the middle of a custody battle,(between him and our daughter) my ex son in law went to the Walton county sheriffs dept and tried to get my wife and i arrested on a false claim,(we had the truth on video) to his amazement he got arrested on an old kid napping warrant that was supposed to have been dismissed by the district attorney. He sued me for attorney fees and court cost to get him out of jail. He won, the judge said it was my fault the son in law went to file false charges at the sheriffs dept and was arrested. True story! I will never respect the law anymore! True statement!

I would hope he is your ex-son-in-law and you never have to see him again, I'd be so afraid wondering if he every came near me and I did anything a crazy judge might side with him again on . . . wow, how weird.

[klott]

he lives in california now. still not far enough!

[nwagner]

Originally Posted by gbeaumont

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.

That alone is almost worth the insurance deductable!

[klott]

hey nick, does the site where you found all the cool emoticans have spyware in it?

[cduphily]

Originally Posted by gbeaumont

The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in USA ). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States . Here is this year's winners! (Keep in mind...These are supposed to be true!)

5th Place (tie):
Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas , was awarded $80,000 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 toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

5th Place (tie):
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.

5th Place (tie):
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, and 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 $500,000. In my opinion this is so outrageous that it should have been 2nd Place !

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. 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 just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and 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 , 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.

1st Place :
This year's runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago (RV) motor home. On her first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The Winniebago company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

(Courtesy Jerry Peck: posted on another site)

Regards

Gerry

I don't know if I should laugh or hide my head in embarrassment over our "legal system"

Frivolous doesn't cut it (imho) ..... these "lawsuits" are simply disgusting.

[nwagner]

Originally Posted by klott

hey nick, does the site where you found all the cool emoticans have spyware in it?

Not sure, all I know is that they have a lot which are easy to insert.

http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp...p=ZSYYYYYYKUUS