The "STELLA" awards

[simon]

The "Stella" awards rank up there with the Darwin awards. In 1994, a New Mexico jury
>awarded $2.9 million in damages to an 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered 3rd degree
>burns to her legs, groin, and buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself.
>
>This case inspired an annual award - The "Stella" Award - for the most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S.
>The cases listed below are clear candidates. They are verging on the outright ridiculous and yet
>(in the good old USA) with the right attorney you could win anything.
>
>1.) January 2000: 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 little snot was Mrs. 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: Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had just robbed
>by way of the garage. He was unable to get the garage door open since the automatic door opener was
>malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and the 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 bag of 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 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 it's 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, PA $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:
>
>7.) 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 could not actually do this.
>He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnebago. (Winnebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this
>court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.)

[interestedparty]

Pretty freaky stuff, couldn't happen here? Eventually, maybe, if things keep going the way they have been recently.

How else are a judge and jury going to feel important unless they award unreasonable amounts of money to people who manage to get their cases in front of them.

How often have we seen a 'solicitor for the families' on TV telling us how they are going to make sure that something bad that has happened never ever happens again. And BTW they are just off down to the estate agents to see what their share of the award is going to buy them.

John

[mikey]

American Legal system is crackers. The one we were lectured on was about the Californian lady who got her terrier wet whilst out walking. Popped it in the microwave to dry it off (early days of microwaves when people didn't know how they worked). Went to take coat off and when she returned the poor dog was cooked. She successfully sued the manufacturers as the appliance under American Law at the time should have clearly stated 'not suitable for drying articles etc.
Mike.