| Kris |
It's once again time to review the winners of the annual Stella Awards.
The Stellas are named after 81 year old Stella Liebeck who spilled
coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's. That case inspired
the 'Stella Awards' for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the
United States.
THIS YEAR'S AWARDS GO TO:
5th Place (Tied) 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 toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.
5th Place (Tied) 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and
medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda
Accord. Mr. Truman apparently did not notice there was someone at the
wheel of the car when he was trying to steal the hubcaps.
5th Place (Tied) 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 could not re-enter the house because the door
connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The
family was on vacation and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the
garage for 8 days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found 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 $500,000.
4th Place Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500
and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
neighbor's Beagle dog. The Beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced
yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might
have been a little provoked at the time as Mr. Williams, who had climbed
over the fence into the yard, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet
gun.
3rd Place BR 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 (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because
Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier, during an
argument.
2nd Place Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a Night
Club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the
floor and knocked out two of her front teeth. This occurred whilst Ms.
Walton was trying to sneak in the window of the Ladies Room to avoid
paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental
expenses.
1st Place!!!!! This year's runaway winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr.Grazinski purchased a brand new Winnebago
Motor home. On his trip home from an OU football game, having driven
onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left
the driver's seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee.
Not surprisingly the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr.
Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that
he could not actually do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a
new Winnebago Motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on
the basis of this suit just in case there were any other complete morons
buying their recreational vehicles. |
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| jaak |
So are these documented true cases, or urban legend? Because they're all whacked!
:ucrazy: |
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| Kris |
I have Googled this and here is what I found:
Merv Grazinski: An Urban Legend
by Walter Williams (January 6, 2004)
Summary: Thirty, 40 or 50 years ago, no one in their right mind would have believed the Merv Grazinski urban legend possible, but not so today.
[www.CapMag.com] Literally hundreds of readers informed me that in last week's column, "Some Things I Wonder About," my reference to a Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City -- who set his 32-foot Winnebago on cruise control, left the driver's seat to brew a cup of coffee, crashed, then sued Winnebago for not having a warning against the dangers of doing so and received a jury award of $1,750,000 plus a new motor home -- was an urban legend and as such totally false.
My having fallen for this "urban legend" points to more due diligence to fact-checking. Without making any excuses whatsoever for my lapse in due diligence, let's look at it.
Thirty, 40 or 50 years ago, no one in their right mind would have believed the Merv Grazinski urban legend possible, but not so today. Personal responsibility has taken a back seat in our increasingly immoral and litigious society. Consider some actual lawsuits researched at (www.overlawyered.com).
The wife of a hockey fan who crashed his car after drinking too much at a Minnesota Wild game has sued the team, saying her husband who was paralyzed in the Feb. 8, 2002, auto crash shouldn't have been served so much alcohol.
According to the July 10, 2002, Akron Beacon Journa, "Two carpet installers who admit they read the label of an adhesive they used, admit they understood the adhesive was flammable and should not be used inside, used it inside anyway, caused an explosion, were burned badly, sued and won $8 million dollars."
According to the April 18, 2003, Indianapolis Star: "A convicted robber is suing the convenience store clerk who shot him as he fled after a holdup. Willie Brown, 44, claimed the clerk acted 'maliciously and sadistically' in firing five shots as Brown ran out of Zipps Deli with money from the store's cash register." Brown, who has earlier convictions for robbery and burglary, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to four years in prison.
In Galveston, Texas, a jury awarded $65 million to the parents and estate of a woman who drowned after her car rolled off a boat ramp. She couldn't disengage her seat belt. The jury found Honda of America Manufacturing Co. Inc. and Honda R & D Co. Ltd. 75 percent responsible for the death of Karen Norman, even though her blood-alcohol level measured at nearly twice the Texas legal limit (.17). Fortunately, an appeals court threw out the award, which a trial judge had previously reduced to $43 million.
Then there's the infamous McDonald's case, where Stella Liebeck purchased hot coffee, placed it between her legs, spilling it and scalding herself, and was awarded $2.9 million for her troubles. Clearly, she was at fault, but George Mason University Law Professor Richard Bernstein points out that a proximate cause for her injury was the fact she was wearing a cotton sweat suit that absorbed the coffee and held it close to her body. However, if she were wearing a Gore-Tex suit, or some other liquid resistant material, she would have suffered no injuries. Bernstein asks what's the tort principle that holds McDonald's responsible but not the sweat suit manufacturer?
None of these cases, and many others, differs in principle from the Merv Grazinski urban legend. What's common to all of them is the absolution or the attempt at absolution from personal responsibility. Are people to be held responsible for their actions? In the case of tobacco use, it's not the smoker who's responsible for his illness, it's tobacco companies. In the case of obesity, it's not the individual, but fast food companies and food manufacturers who are responsible. It's the same with criminal violence -- the gun manufacturer is partly to blame.
What does all this say for the future of our nation?
About the Author: Born in Philadelphia in 1936, Walter E. Williams holds a bachelor's degree in economics from California State University (1965) and a master's degree (1967) and doctorate (1972) in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.
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| jaak |
Hmm.... Something wrong with the legal system, wouldn't you say?
Reminds me of a few jokes, but because there are good lawyers out there as well, that I like and respect, I'll stay away from it...
(Besides, you all know the jokes already, right!) |
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| silvermo |
| Look in to the Mc Donalds case a little further, you'll discover....Mc Donalds was warned several times prior to reduce the temp they were serving coffee at, due to about a dozen severe burns requiring skin grafts...her burns were so severe she required surgery on her legs and genitals....the original settlement you speak of was based on a single days profit for McDonalds US operations. That settlement was later overturned. (something you never hear about) |
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| big_daddy_mpd |
Something's wrong with the legal system? You mean, the legal system designed to make lawyers rich? Yeah, I'm not sure why we all need rich lawyers, but, guess what, the MORONS you all vote for, they made this system. Vote them out. BTW, George W. Bush ran on Tort Reform...I wonder what happened, oh, yeah, 9/11.
Regards,
Big |
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| jaak |
Canada doesn't seem to get as many extremely stupid cases like this. I suspect it's the structure of law here, but I don't know enough to comment on it.
I would be curious to know. Maybe there's just no one worth suing here. Oh wait, there's lots of American companies!:D |
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| Murano_driver |
| This is halarios.:19: |
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