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Every year, the "Stella" awards are given
to the most outlandish lawsuits of the year. The award is named for Stella
Liebeck, the Albuquerque, N.M. woman who became an instant millionaire
after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee in her lap and winning a judgment
against the fast-food chain.
Here are some definite candidates:
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 amok inside a furniture store. The owners of the store
were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving
little boy 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 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, 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. 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.
Mr. Dickson 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. 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. 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.
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