IP: A bit of "humor" -- Really Weird Lawsuits

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: "Virginia" <rainesco () earthlink net>
>
> Really Weird Lawsuits
> By Michael Lasalandra
> 11-13-1
>
> In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S.  in damages to
> 81-year-old
> Stella Liebeck who suffered third-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 screwed-up lawsuit in the U.S.
>
> The ones listed below are clear candidates.
>
> 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 amock inside a furniture store.  The owners of the store were
> understandably surprised at the verdict,considering the misbehaving toddler
> was
> Ms.  Robertson's son.
>
> 2.  June 1998: 19-year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical
> expenses when his neighbour 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 neighbour's hubcaps.
>
> 3.  October 1998: 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, because 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.  Mr.  Dickson 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
> neighbour's beagle.  The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced-in
> yard, as
> was Mr.  Williams.  The award was less than sought because the jury felt
> the dog
> may have been provoked by Mr.  Williams who, at the time, 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 neighbouring 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.
>
> 7.  And just so you know that cooler heads do occasionally prevail: Kenmore
> Inc., the makers of Dorothy Johnson's microwave, were found not liable for the
> death of Mrs.  Johnson's poodle after she gave it a bath and attempted to
> dry it
> by putting the poor creature in her microwave for "just a few minutes, on
> low."
> The case was quickly dismissed.
>
> ------------
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>
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