Sloth, Pride, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Envy... and Stupidity. This is ho these apply to the exacting of justice in the USA.
The Stella Awards
are awards given to people who file outrageous and frivolous lawsuits, named after a woman named Stella Liebeck who, in 1992, spilled a cup of McDonald's' coffee onto her lap, causing third degree burns. She sued McDonald's for delivering extremely hot (undrinkable/burning) coffee and was awarded USD$2.9 million in damages, subsequently reduced by the judge to $640,000, though a later secret settlement was reached between Liebeck and McDonald's. (Reference: Wikipedia)
Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from a football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers 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.
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.
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.
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