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This years' Stella Awards

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  • This years' Stella Awards

    funny

    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 kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

    Here are the Stellas for this year:

    * 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, 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.

    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!!


    * FIRST PLACE *

    This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a 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 owner's 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.

  • #2
    These "Stella Awards" have been debunked it would seem.

    https://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

    Comment


    • #3
      We should just do our own here and call them the Ottawa Divorce Awards, according to our ex's perception .

      I nominate myself, as #1 Monster Mom, every child's and ex's worst nightmare with every psychotic diagnoses know to man kind.. Whats yours???

      Comment


      • #4
        Ross: well there you go.... good to know someone on here pays attention!

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by kate331 View Post
          We should just do our own here and call them the Ottawa Divorce Awards, according to our ex's perception .

          I nominate myself, as #1 Monster Mom, every child's and ex's worst nightmare with every psychotic diagnoses know to man kind.. Whats yours???
          I'm "the #1 leach/leech" as I collect spousal support

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by arabian View Post
            I'm "the #1 leach/leech" as I collect spousal support
            Hahaha, this is far more fun!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by arabian View Post
              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?

              Not only is the list false, but the original case is woefully misrepresented. McDonalds completely deserved to get sued in her case.


              https://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm


              McDonalds coffee was not only hot, it was scalding -- capable of almost instantaneous destruction of skin, flesh and muscle.
              The sweatpants Liebeck was wearing absorbed the coffee and held it next to her skin. A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonalds refused.
              McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to maintain optimum taste. He admitted that he had not evaluated the safety ramifications at this temperature. Other establishments sell coffee at substantially lower temperatures, and coffee served at home is generally 135 to 140 degrees.
              Tort reform is a victory for companies against consumers. Right wing think tanks have pushed this false narrative of the mcdonalds coffee story for years. Don't believe the hype.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by arabian View Post
                I'm "the #1 leach/leech" as I collect spousal support
                lol. Not even close. My ex has you beat hands down.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I was nominated as the "smelly fish" by a now removed "resourceful" poster. I still honor that title today.

                  Surströmming Award Winner

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Janus View Post
                    Not only is the list false, but the original case is woefully misrepresented. McDonalds completely deserved to get sued in her case.


                    https://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm



                    Tort reform is a victory for companies against consumers. Right wing think tanks have pushed this false narrative of the mcdonalds coffee story for years. Don't believe the hype.
                    Thank you for posting this.

                    Comment

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