Origin of the Stella Awards:
In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $2.9 million U.S. in damages to
81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her legs,
groin and buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald\'s coffee on herself.
This case inspired an annual award - The "Stella" Award -for the most
frivolous lawsuit in the U.S. The ones listed below are clear
candidates. All these cases are verging on the outright ridiculous and
yet (in the good old USA) with the right attorney you could win
anything! The following are all true stories.
1. January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was awarded $780,000
by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler
who was running amuck inside a furniture store. The owners of the store
were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the
misbehaving little rodent was Ms. Robertson\'s son.
2. June 1998: 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.
3. October 1998: Terrence ****son 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, because 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. Mr. ****son 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. Mr. ****son sued the homeowner\'s insurance claiming
the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the
tune of half a million dollars.
4. October 1999: 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-in yard, as was Mr. Williams. The award was less than sought
because the jury felt the dog may have been provoked by Mr. Williams,
who at the time, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
5. May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson
of Lancaster, Penn., $113,500 after she slipped on soft drink and broke
her coccyx. The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson threw it at
her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
6. December 1997: 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.
