| StockFetcher Forums · General Discussion · Stella Awards | << >>Post Follow-up |
| TheRumpledOne 6,411 posts msg #104786 - Ignore TheRumpledOne |
2/2/2012 1:53:27 PM In my inbox.... It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know the kind of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy Here are the Stellas for this past year -- 2011 * SEVENTH PLACE * Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son. Start scratching! * SIXTH PLACE * Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. Scratch some more... * FIFTH PLACE * Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish Keep scratching. There are more... Double hand scratching after this one.. * FOURTH PLACE * Jerry Williams, of Little Rock , Arkansas , garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun. Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot.. * THIRD PLACE * Amber Carson of Lancaster , Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions? Only two more so ease up on the scratching... *SECOND PLACE* Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure. Ok. Here we go!! Drum roll ... * FIRST PLACE * This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owners manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down? $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home. If you think the court system is out of control and America has lost ALL common sense, be sure to pass this one on!!! |
| impliedvolatility 8 posts msg #104794 - Ignore impliedvolatility |
2/2/2012 8:57:28 PM Isn't there a "joke" thread that already exists? That's where this post belongs. |
| BarTune1 441 posts msg #104795 - Ignore BarTune1 |
2/2/2012 9:05:40 PM Of course, there is also reality: http://lottlaw.blogspot.com/2008/04/lawsuit-myths.html |
| impliedvolatility 8 posts msg #104800 - Ignore impliedvolatility |
2/2/2012 10:29:39 PM I assume that you are referring to the reality that so called tort reform is really just another way to disenfranchise ordinary American citizens of their right to sue for redress of damages against powerful corporations. |
| TheRumpledOne 6,411 posts msg #104806 - Ignore TheRumpledOne modified |
2/3/2012 11:09:58 AM 2/2/2012 8:57:28 PM Isn't there a "joke" thread that already exists? That's where this post belongs. ========================================================= It's not a joke... but it's only funny because it's true! |
| machismo 115 posts msg #104809 - Ignore machismo |
2/3/2012 12:14:22 PM If its on the internet it must be true. Also add the words FACT in caps and it becomes true. That's a FACT. Add your fact list to a junk mailing list and spam everyone and tell them to pass it forward and now it becomes a KNOWN FACT. |
| wcurtis 54 posts msg #104813 - Ignore wcurtis |
2/3/2012 2:47:48 PM Hey Dudes - It's only the " Stella Awards " !! If you don't want to enjoy a little humor once in a while then get control of your mouse. You probably read the whole thing and only then did you get offended. You should spank that index finger that made you read it all. |
| pirate67 99 posts msg #104824 - Ignore pirate67 |
2/4/2012 7:43:29 PM The rest of the story: http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp |
| dangreene 229 posts msg #104833 - Ignore dangreene |
2/5/2012 3:37:52 PM Can you say - - - GULLIBLE ? |
| MarkS 10 posts msg #104834 - Ignore MarkS |
2/5/2012 5:37:35 PM Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. You should read the actual case of Stella Liebeck. Her initial claim against McDonald's was for $20,000 after spending 8 days in the hospital with 3rd degree burns. Which they rejected. She was actually a passenger in the vehicle, which was stopped, while she tried to open it to add cream. McDonald's had over 700 claims against them for burns from their coffee, and did nothing to fix the problem. The reason their coffee was so hot, was because they expected you to buy a cup and then carry it to the office to drink it. Even though their own research showed that most people would drink it immediately. There is more to the story, but the point is, try to get all the facts when you see these headlines. |
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