hahaha-- :lol:

Stella Awards
It's time once again to consider the candidates for the annual Stella Awards. The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States.


The following are this year's candidates:


1. Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a nightclub 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.

2. 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 was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.

3. A 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 hub caps.

4. A. Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 a! after she slipped on a soft drink spill 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.

5. 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 reenter 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.

6. A jury of her peers awarded Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, $780,000 after breaking her ankle by 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.

7. This year's favorite could easily be Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded him $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 buying their recreation vehicles.

:o Wow, how unjust!

I know some people may find this funny and I understand that it is posted in fun, so please don't get mad at me, k? :)

Reading these types of verdicts makes me really have very little faith in the U.S.A. justice system because it seems that there is no justice at all. Especially that one about the guy suing his neighbor because the neighbor's dog bit him. It seems almost unreal to me that a jury would award the dog shooter actual money because he was indulging in animal cruelty and was bitten. I really do hope that each and every one of the defendants filed a counter-suit and won!

I know what you mean. It's funny on the surface, but then you get thinking...hmm, I can be completely irresponsible, possibly do something illegal, and have someone else pay big bucks for my mistakes.

I mean, I've slipped on icy sidewalks, banged into shelving in stores, had a neighbours dog dig up my garden (of course I was watching him do it, I couldn't care less about the garden) and several other little mishaps. Always as a joke I say "I should sue someone" but it would never occur to me to actually do it.

Lawsuits can be useful when trying to prove a point if someone seriously, intentionally did something horrible or dangerous, but this is getting out of hand. If someone sued me because my dog ripped thier pants (which he did to the aforementioned neighbour, now we are even) I'd be POed and super POed. :angry:

Who are these juries that are awarding these damages, anyways? :wacko: Smarten up people.

hey Mel--I totally agree...

it's insane that these people got money!! wtf--this is what our tax dollars are paying for...

everyone is just so money hungry, it's sickening... I can't believe they were awarded for their cruelty and idiocy too! I suppose the next time you go out, you should just leave your house unlocked... along with ample food for any burglars?? maybe post a sign outside that says, "Burglar Friendly House". it's ridiculous. I really feel for the people who got sued. :nono

whats more sickning is the idiots who awarded these people the money. geez

I agree 110%. I mean, come on! That robber had it coming to him IMO.
People will do anything for $$. It's a shame. And those who award them for their obviously bad and criminal behavior should not be given that sort of power or at the very least, should be stripped of power after making such poor decisions.