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In lugnet.lego, Todd Thuma writes:
> By the way, I am searching for a better example of poor jury decisions. If you
> have one that I can site in the future please send it to me. I do not feel that
> juries are always correct. It is a good system, but it is not absent of errors.
> There are too many people being exhonorated based on DNA evidence to suggest
> that the jury system is error free.
Taken from an e-mail sent to me a few months back:
---
Subject: FW: Stella Awards
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 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) with the right attorney you could win anything!
(see OJ trial)
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 amuck inside a furniture store. The owners of the
store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the
misbehaving little prick was Ms. Robertson's son.
2. 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 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: 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, 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 it's 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 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.
And you wonder why "Lawyers" have the reputation they have.
---
My point is when you do stupid things, stupid things will happen. You
*cannot* legislate stupidity out of existence, nor can you stop people from
doing stupid stuff. When manufacturers have to put on Superman Halloween
costumes a warning which states 'Warning-wearing cape does not allow you to
fly' to stop the lawsuits, I question people's intelligence.
I will never sue anybody due to my stupidity. If I slip on a patch of ice
and break my neck and end up in bed the rest of my life, whom do I sue? The
unfortunate sod whose house I just happened to be in front of at the time?
What if i'm in a field somewhere? The government? What if I'm hiking out
in the obscure corners of the world and I slip and twist an ankle?
Life happens. If someone is *negligent*, then see what you can do. Coffee
is hot. It's suppose to be hot. I don't need a warning to tell me it's
hot--it's hot. It's like sueing the stove manufacturer for damages when I
put my hand on a heated element.
I'm so proud of my girlfriend right now. She was riding her bike to work
last week, in the bike lane btw, when a guy, making an illegal U-turn in the
middle of the street, hit her. She has a broken collar bone now and for the
first few days was in lots of pain. You know what everybody and their dog
is saying for her to do? Sue Sue Sue. She's not having any part of it,
though. The insurance company of the driver is covering all her medical
expenses, her bike fixing and/or replacement, loss of wages. Why? Because
that's what insurance companies are for.
And Life happens.
I don't want government coming out with laws that prohibit me from building
personal submarines. I don't want governmenet based restrictions keeping me
from scuba diving, hking, canoeing, and the rest of the things I have fun
doing but are risky sometimes. You know what these lawsuits are going to
do, though? They are going to push regulations, restrictions, laws to be made.
Anyway, there is so much here that I find absolutely infuriating, and this
is from someone that doesn't get infuriated too much.
We all pay for it in the long run. Sure, you may have your 2 million
dollars from your frivilous lawsuit, but in the end, we're all paying for it.
Dave!!
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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| (...) Just so people know where I am on this one, Stella did have a legitimate case in my view. As others have stated, McD had been repeatedly warned that they were serving coffee that was WAY WAY too hot, and did it for their convenience. However I (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
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| David Koudys wrote in message ... (...) For more about this non-frivolous case, see here: (URL) The woman in question (was seriously scalded, MacDonalds sold its coffee at a higher than normal temp, which has caused multiple serious scalds over the (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
|
| (...) [snip contents] While funny, this is completely bogus. None of these cases ever occurred. For the full story, see: (URL) William R Ward bill@wards.net (URL) BUT TRUE: There is so much sand in northern Africa that if it were spread out it would (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Fan Thank You Letter
|
| (...) Boy, I sure need a course in "how!" I am searching the literature on how LINUX hurts the trademark on Windows. Or more to the point, how Pocket Linux hurts the trademark on an HP Handheld or palm computer that originally held as its OS the (...) (22 years ago, 20-Jun-02, to lugnet.lego)
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