Subject:
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Re: Frivolous lawsuits--a new winner?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 31 Jul 2001 17:52:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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245 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler writes:
> > http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/07/28/life.poptart.reut/index.html
>
> I like this one too...
>
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010728/us/toy_yoda_3.html
I may take some lumps for this, but...
I think in that second case, the plaintiff is in the right--
if the implication was that the prize was a car, then using
trickery to get the motivational results pursuant to offering
a car as a performance incentive is completely dishonest. The
key, as far as I'm concerned, is that she's only asking for
the car she believes was promised. She's not going for $1.5m
or anything stupid like that. If the implication was made
sufficiently that any reasoning person could be expected to
draw that conclusion, or that deception was intended, then
it's a pretty clear-cut case.
By the way, precedent is that in such cases, the plaintiff
gets the promised vehicle or its cash equivalent. There was
one from a couple of years ago where a radio station offered
a contest to win a new Mustang, and at the last second gave
the winner a die-cast toy. She sued and won quite handily--
car motor noises had been used in the promo spots (IIRC) and
the implication had been made on the air that the vehicle
could be "driven away" with.
That said, I think the woman with the pop-tart is an idiot,
and shouldn't get a dime. She should consider herself lucky
if her homeowner's insurance even pays out! Running a heating-
element device unattended is simply stupid. Even a curling
iron, if handled poorly, can burn down a house.
By the way, did anyone hear about the MRI accident yesterday?
Some yutz walked into the scanning room--with its 10-ton electro-
magnet--carrying an oxygen tank, for some reason. Predictably,
it was ripped from his grip and FLEW across the room and into
the aperture, killing a 6-year-old boy. I can't WAIT to see the
lawsuit/settlement on THAT one--it's another pretty clear-cut
case (and the hospital has, to its credit, admitted as much).
best
LFB
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Frivolous lawsuits--a new winner?
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| (...) I agree--I'd be especially interested to learn if some sort of inter-office memo had circulated, because the spelling of "Toyota" in such a document would seem a clear implication of the nature of the prize. (...) In addition, I flatly (...) (23 years ago, 31-Jul-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Frivolous lawsuits--a new winner?
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| (...) IANAL, so what do I know, but I think you're right. It seems clear a car was implied (especially since they took her to the parking lot to receive it). (...) Sure, I agree here too, but I still think the "McDonald's hot coffee spilled on lap" (...) (23 years ago, 31-Jul-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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