Silver_Dragon Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 It's time once again to review the winners of the Annual "Stella Awards." The Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's (in NM). That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States. Here are this year's winners: 5th Place (tie): 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 owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. 5th Place (tie): 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 didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. 5th Place (tie): Terrence [bleep]son 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 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. [bleep]son 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. 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. 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 just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard and was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun. 3rd Place: 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, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring 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. 1st Place: This year's run away winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs.Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded her $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around. Gotta love the way the US justice system works, and how easy it is to sue and win over such frivolities and non-sense :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubsa Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Oh my word. People like this really are the scum of the Earth. They would deserve to go straight to hell had they not made me laugh at their idiocity. Only in America [/cliche] This is how much you all raised for charity. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 I'm sceptical that these ever happened. The coffee thing was bad, but these are too extreme to be believeable. It *might* be true, but I doubt it. But let's say that they are true... In that case I don't see the need to burn the people who won the money alive, as they simply abused a messed up system. Now, as for the jury who gave made that verdict on the other hand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icedrop Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Heh with that amount of money, they could buy alot of stella :o ==ice== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubsa Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 But let's say that they are true... In that case I don't see the need to burn the people who won the money alive, as they simply abused a messed up system. Now, as for the jury who gave made that verdict on the other hand... Ah yes, quite. :P 'Twas whom I was mainly referring to. This is how much you all raised for charity. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Tigra Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 I'm almost certain I saw that #1 winner story on an actually news website...Something credable, but I don't remember...CNN, ABC, hellifiknow. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizla Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 How the hell do these people have the nerve/stupidity to sue for such things? More disturbing than that, is the fact that a jury (which consists of 12 people?) actually agreed to give them the compensation. Unbelievable. Kirk and Lars I could handle. At the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadril Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 How the hell do these people have the nerve/stupidity to sue for such things? More disturbing than that, is the fact that a jury (which consists of 12 people?) actually agreed to give them the compensation. Unbelievable. Yeah, it is quite Unbelievable. some of those don't even seem like they could be real... but oh well. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dymed Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 The first 5th place and 1st place are most definately false. My friend did an extensive reasearch paper on frivalous lawsuits around the world, and those two are hoaxes that were largely publicized. And the last 5th place one seems like a modification of the robber breaking into a house in the middle of the night, slipping on spilled water that was in the kitchen, breaking his leg, and winning his suit against the owners of the house (which is 100% true.) Even with a couple of false ones in there (that I know of at least), it's disgusting what people can get sued for (and lose) in this country. Just absolutely ridiculous. Sad part is there is some clause (forgot the exact name) that says that if you sue someone for something ridiculous and waste the court's time, you have to pay for both your attorney and cover the charges of the person you sued. Yet, unbelievable cases still go on. Crazy. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
How2PK Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Get them up against the wall! Freaking money hungrey bastards! You'd almost say they did it on purpose to get money. Signature by Maurice SendakWhen the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool, that's amore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil_Elf Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 The jury must've been in a deal with the people who were suing, I'd never rule a case like any of those in favor of the prosectuor (prosecuter? whatever) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 those things are years old and are on most joke sites. even though they are jokes i could see some of them working lucky circumstances and a damn good lawyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You'd be surprised. These people, contrary to popular belief, aren't as stupid as they are made out to be (however let's not rule it out completely). What they are actually doing, while it can't necessarily be called that, is abusing the court system. The lady who crashed her Winnie? She most likely crashed it out of another error, and claimed she made a sandwich. The other people most likely got those injuries, but they just think, "why not get something out of it?," and sue. Such a shame there aren't ways around this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futurama Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 You call it idiocy, but they're the ones walking away with several thousand dollars. I take my hat off to them for having the sense to sue, i really do. Still, it's fun to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenageloser33 Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 Actually the one about the women tripping over a toddler is true, I watched the news report one morning before school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercifull Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 Most of the stella awards are rubbish and theres no credible source with it ever happening. Mercifull <3 Suzi "We don't want players to be able to buy their way to success in RuneScape. If we let players start doing this, it devalues RuneScape for others. We feel your status in real-life shouldn't affect your ability to be successful in RuneScape" Jagex 01/04/01 - 02/03/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete_the_Viscous Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 Yeah.... it's not that the claimants are stupid (though one has to wonder, what with tripping over a todler); it's that the claim should never even be considered. True or not, those are funny, especially the guy locking himself in by accident. Reminds me of a comedy (I don't remember which), in which some lawyer was describes as being able to convince a jury that (I tell a lie: it was Blackadder Goes Forth) the man standing with a knife above the murdered fellow, saying "I'm glad I killed the bas..ahem...guy" was innocent. Furthermore, the family of the deceased had to pay to get the blood washed out of the killer's suit. deviantart account Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 All I can do is laugh :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionheart_0 Posted April 10, 2005 Share Posted April 10, 2005 ... is it just me... but i remember reading about these during the summer... Sig by IkuraiYour Guide to Posting! Behave or I will send my Moose mounted Beaver launchers at you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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