The Stella Awards

[splinter]

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 actual lawsuit cases in the United States.

 

 

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 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

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. 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. He sued the

homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The

jury agreed, to the tune of $500,000. In my opinion this is so

outrageous that it should have been 2nd Place!

 

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 yeas runaway 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

driver's 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.

[Rikard]

none of those people deserve a single penny

 

Typical they’re Americans

 

That robber stuck in the garage should have been left in there to rot

 

[mcrew]

And the scarey thing is that the compensation culture in this country is getting more and more like the USA everyday!

[erik]

"Only in America"

 

And mcrew, I think you're right. My local recycling centre even locks the little bin things, you know, for tins, glass jars etc so people can't put their lids down on their fingers and try to sue the council.

Edited August 15, 2006 by erik

[Marcy_Boi#133]

And mcrew, I think you're right. My local recycling centre even locks the little bin things, you know, for tins, glass jars etc so people can't put their lids down on their fingers and try to sue the council.

 

No Erik. They lock them so that the people from Crimond can steal all the tin cans to use as a safety fence instead of the tyres currently in place!

[splinter]

What's the point in them if you can't get in em!

[erik]

What's the point in them if you can't get in em!

 

There are holes cut in the lid, big enough to fit a tin/jar through (so you have to put them in individually rather than just lifting the lid and pouring them in).

 

And Darcy, would you please stop obsessing about fences?

Edited August 15, 2006 by erik

[Marcy_Boi#133]

What's the point in them if you can't get in em!

 

There are holes cut in the lid, big enough to fit a tin/jar through (so you have to put them in individually rather than just lifting the lid and pouring them in).

 

And Darcy, would you please stop obsessing about fences?

 

It ent about fences, s'all about the shat hole you call Crimond!

[erik]

What's the point in them if you can't get in em!

 

There are holes cut in the lid, big enough to fit a tin/jar through (so you have to put them in individually rather than just lifting the lid and pouring them in).

 

And Darcy, would you please stop obsessing about fences?

 

It ent about fences, s'all about the shat hole you call Crimond!

 

At least we're safe.

[Nick M48]

And the scarey thing is that the compensation culture in this country is getting more and more like the USA everyday!

 

Spot on, no such thing as an accident anymore, it's always someones fault ( never the person that had the accident). I also agree with Rikards post.

[erik]

They shouldn't have left that burgular to rot Rikard....that would be cruel.

 

They should have hung him. That would shut him up.