Stella Awards
By: SmrtySsa
on Monday, November 11th 2002 at 8:43am
Got this in my email, so I'm posting it cuz it's funny and will warrent some discussions as to how lawsuits like these even make it through the system in the good ol' USA.
The "Stella" Awards are very similar the Darwin awards. Stella Liebeck is the 81 year old lady who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonalds. This case inspired an annual award- The "Stella" Award - for the most frivolous lawsuits in the U.S.
The following are the 2000-2001 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 inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little child 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 Carl's hand with his Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when trying to steal his neighbour's hubcaps.
3. October 1998: Terrence Dickinson 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 reenter the house because the door connecting the house and garage had locked when he pulled it shut. As 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 there 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 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. 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, 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.
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 entered 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 couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie. (Winnebago has actually changed their handbooks as a result of this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.)
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Comments for Stella Awards
Wildman Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 9:56am
I see a trend in every single one of these cases. The person suing refuses to take responsibility for their own actions.
Sara Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 10:16am
Yeah well, that is becomming typical in today's society.
Ak0dem1x Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 11:31am
Umm.... you really have to question the authenticity of these reports. I'm afraid that some of them may have been exaggerated, or altered, to make a relatively stupid lawsuit seem really really stupid. (i.e. 30 seconds after throwing the glass... where did this statistic come from? How can it be verified? Did the lady claim that it was thirty seconds, or was it the restaurant's claim? If it was the restaurant's claim, did the lady concur?) They just seem a bit fabricated. If I could see them first hand, then I would believe them. That is to say, I'd have to witness the events before I'd be willing to put my life on what actually happened. Even then...
"Never believe what you hear, and half of what you see."
Elvish Kitty at Skoo Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 12:56pm
Our society is sick. If some burgler is stupid enough to get caught IN THE HOUSE HE IS ROBBING then he should get various appendages removed in a most humane manner (ie: a blunt sword).
And Akk1e...granted some things should not be taken at face value. A lot of things shouldn't be taken at face value, religion and philosophy being at the front, with the evening news close behind. Questioning is healthy, but our society isn't...there are actually people that stupid, that they would cause the accident and sue the store/restraunt whatever because of embarassemnt, face saving, and, as Morgan said, the inability to take responsibility for their own actions.
Here in Canada, I could be sued for boobytrapping my house against burglars...or if a burglar broke a bone while breaking into my house. And some of them would too. Because they are stupid, and the law is stupid, and the people who made it up and set the precedent are totally stupid.
The general public is generally stupid. You mocked me once for saying that - granted we were warring - but it is no less true now than it was the first time you set into Conor and my brother rose to the defense of his longtime friend. Exaggerated or not...this sort of stuff does happen. And it's no less pathetic if it happens here instead of in the US.
SmrtySsa Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 8:21pm
> Man, I thought this site was for posting original stuff....
Mostly, unless something like this will stir up discussion :P
Beeer Wrote...
Tuesday, November 12th 2002 at 12:38am
Oh man. Gotta love Americans...
Its insane that the law works the way it does. I mean, if someone hops the fence and wants to swim in my pool when I'm not home, and they happen to drown, I'm the one who gets in trouble. It's retarded.
Joe Crumley Wrote...
Saturday, November 16th 2002 at 1:08pm
Did you believe these facts? Did you nod your head.... or shake it in disbelief. Well here's a little reality for you...
*Every**single**one*of these stories is a *proven**hoax*. Here is the proof, gathered by the very independent "Urban legend" people at snopes.com:
http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.htm
Do your research, folks. And get real.
Rarely, someone gets a windfall out of some strange facts. But if you people really believe that corporate America is going to let this happen more than rarely, you're living in a dream world.
More often than not, the individually gets screwed by the big corpoarations and insurers. That's been true since ancient times. Since when does the little guy have a chance against a big corporation?
But you can do something. Next time someone tells you a bullshit story like this.... be at least a little sceptical.... get proof....get the facts. And if you read it in a newspaper, or hear it on the radio.... Ask yourself..... Who owns the newspapers and radio stations?
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Sara Wrote...
Monday, November 11th 2002 at 8:56am
Man, I thought this site was for posting original stuff....