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View Full Version : The OFFICIAL Crazy Law suit thread!


db!
01-05-2007, 12:30 AM
I need citations for these, so if anyone can tell me where to get it I'd appreciate it.

Sued after getting stuck on the house he was robbing
In October 1998, A Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania was exiting a house he finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up, because 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, so 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. This upset Mr. Dickson, so he sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars and change.

Sued Winnebago after crashing it
In November 2000 Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having joined 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 Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie. (Winnebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.

Allen Heckard sued Michael Jordan and Phil Knight on July 2006. Heckard claims he has suffered emotional trauma because he looks like Michael Jordan. Heckard has filed his look-alike case at the Washington County Court in Oregon and with a $832 million dollar head. Allen Heckard believes his life has been rough since people continually think he is Michael Jordan. Heckard says when he plays basketball, people are constantly telling him he plays like Michael Jordan and this has been difficult for him. Heckard is only six feet tall, so obviously those who assume he is Michael Jordan have little regard for height. Heckard even wears Air Jordan shoes, he says that they're the most comfortable.

Sisters Janice Bird, Dayle Bird Edgmon and Kim Bird Moran sued their mother's doctors and a hospital after Janice accompanied her mother, Nita Bird, to a minor medical procedure. When something went wrong, Janice and Dayle witnessed doctors rushing their mother to emergency surgery. Rather than malpractice, their legal fight centered on the "negligent infliction of emotional distress" -- not for causing distress to their mother, but for causing distress to them for having to see the doctors rushing to help their mother. The case was fought all the way to the California Supreme Court, which finally ruled against the women. Which is a good thing, since if they had prevailed doctors and hospitals would have had no choice but to keep you from being anywhere near your family members during medical procedures just in case something goes wrong. In their greed, the Bird sisters risked everyone's right to have family members with them in emergencies.

Is there a name for these? The ones where the plaintiffs won are not frivolous obviously.

ThePurpleBunny
01-05-2007, 02:23 AM
Is there a name for these? The ones where the plaintiffs won are not frivolous obviously.

That doesn't define frivolous (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frivolous) (which is the word you're looking for). Any lawsuit brought on by someone against someone else even through the plaintiff was at fault and irresponsible (or stupid) is frivolous. Look at the dumb bitch that went to McDonald's, ordered a coffee, put the cup at the edge of the table, knocked it off, incinerated her rug, sued, and won. She clearly doesn't know proper hot beverage safety, yet McDonald's has to pay for her dumb ass.

Lots of idiots do something stupid and sue someone to avoid blame, and some win. Still frivolous. Look at this one:

http://trouble.iotashan.com/jokes/stupid-lawsuits.cfm

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 hubcaps.There you go.

db!
01-05-2007, 10:12 AM
Frivolous in law means "lacking in any arguable basis or merit in either law or fact "

I meant there must have been some arguable basis for the lawsuit to go to trial. Regardless of how stupid it sounds to us, there was something interpretable by law that covered the subject. Thus the case was substantial. I believe these might be called stella awards but I'm not positive.

Btw I just learned the Grazinski thing is an Urban Legend.