2006 Stella Awards

[KeithPA]

I got this in an email, thought I'd share it. Some pretty stupid people out there.

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 USA ). That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits 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 neighbour 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 neighbour'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 neighbour'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 neighbouring 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 runaway winner was Mrs Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma . Mrs Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago (RV) motor home. On her first trip home, 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

[billamj]

The truly scary part of all of this is that these people are still out there and able to procreate thereby creating more complete idiots! Astounding.

[jdlv4_0]

The truly scary part of all of this is that these people are still out there and able to procreate thereby creating more complete idiots! Astounding.

Lets just hope none of them are armed, think of the head aches that could cause.

The legal system is screwed.

[ChamberedRound]

Sad that two of the entries are from PA.

[phillyd2]

Poor lady just wanted a sandwich. Who doesn't love a good sandwich...oh, wait, the Winnebago was moving....?....cruise control....?...70 mph...? F'ing moron. This can't be true, can it?

[billamj]

Poor lady just wanted a sandwich. Who doesn't love a good sandwich...oh, wait, the Winnebago was moving....?....cruise control....?...70 mph...? F'ing moron. This can't be true, can it?

You've survived this long, right?

[Intrigue]

I think I've seen the RV story on snopes as not true.

[Frenchy]

Poor lady just wanted a sandwich. Who doesn't love a good sandwich...oh, wait, the Winnebago was moving....?....cruise control....?...70 mph...? F'ing moron. This can't be true, can it?

Actually, I was still in quebec the first time I read the winabago one, I was all over the news, but IIRC it was in transit to florida. Winabago and many other RV owners recieved a drivers guide to show how to properly park the RV before any cooking.
I believe this was around 1991, because I was in the hospital when my sister showed me the warning she recieved from her RV maker.

[xflyboy]

there are really people out there that bad or these wouldn,t exist

On Sears hairdryer:
Do not use while sleeping.

On a bag of Fritos:
You could be a winner! No purchase necessary - Details inside.

On a bar of Dial soap: Directions:
Use like regular soap.

On some Swanson frozen dinners:
Serving suggestion: Defrost.

On a hotel provided shower cap in a box:
Fits one head.

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert:
(printed on bottom of the box) Do not turn upside down.

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding:
Product will be hot after heating.

On packaging for a Rowenta iron:
Do not iron clothes on body.

On Boot's Children's cough medicine:
Do not drive car or operate machinery.

On Nytol sleep aid:
Warning: may cause drowsiness.

On a Korean kitchen knife:
Warning keep out of children.

On a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights:
For indoor or outdoor use only.

On a Japanese food processor:
Not to be used for the other use.

On Sainsbury's peanuts:
Warning: contains nuts.

On an American Airlines packet of nuts:
Instructions: open packet, eat nuts.

On a Swedish chain saw:
Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals.

On a child's Superman costume:
Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.

[PA Dave]

You may think that people aren't that bad but let me tell you if you get sued in pa you are sooooo screwed. I sat on a jury where a lady hit a guys f-250 with a toyota little something and the drawbar on the back of the truck didn't even go through the radiator of her car. She was sued for medical and we had to decide what amount the settlement was to be for. The first person to speak up said 1.5m!!! I said no f***n way, the amount ended up being 17k. Just in case you don't know I'll tell you "In a democracy your peer could end up bein that bitch hillary rodman c***stain!!!! DON'T GET SUED OR YOU ARE TOAST!!!