hehehe... it's been a while...
so i came cross this page my law prof gave us to show how stupid ppl can be..and yet still win..!?
cuz of a 1994 case in New Mexico, where the jury awarded $2.9M in damages to a 81-year-old 'Stella' Liebeck who suffered 3rd degree burns to her legs, groin & buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself...
...and thus, the 'Stella' Award began...
1/ 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 b/c Ms. Carson had thrown it at her bf 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
2/ Jan 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin, TX 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 so-and-so was Ms. Robertson's own son.
3/ Oct 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, AR was awarded $14,500 & 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. 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.
4/ Oct 1998: Terrence Dickson of Bristol, PA 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 had locked when he pulled it shut. the family was on facation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for 8 days. he subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, & 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.
5/ June 1998: 19-year-old Carl Truman of LA won $74,000 & 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, while he was trying to steal his neighbour's hubcaps.
6/ Dec 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, DE 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 change. she was awarded $12,000 & dental expenses.
...and finally, the winner is...
7/ Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. in Nov 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 & calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. not surprisingly, the Winnie left the freeway, crashed & 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.)
moral of the story = with a good lawyer...anything can happen..
yeah...i had time to kill..
