10
Dec

The Stella Award

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 McDonalds coffee on herself. This case inspired an
annual award – The Stella Award – for the most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S.
The ones listed below are clear candidates. All these cases are verging on the
outright ridiculous and yet (in the good old USA) it seems that with the right
attorney, you could win anything!

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
so-and-so was Ms. Robertsons son.

June 1998: A 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 didnt notice there was someone at the wheel of the car,
when he was trying to steal his neighbours hubcaps.

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 couldnt 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 homeowners
insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury
agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.

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
neighbours beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owners 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.

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.

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.

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 the handbook that
he couldnt actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie.
(Winniebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court case,
just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.)

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