Stella Awards

**SiggyZ** · 01-13-2011, 10:47 AM

Stella Awards
It's time again for the annual "Stella Awards." For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head and say WTF. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stellas for the past year:

* SEVENTH PLACE *

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 store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

Start scratching!

* SIXTH PLACE *

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California , won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

Scratch some more...

* FIFTH PLACE *

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching .. There are more......

Double hand scratching after this one.....

* FOURTH PLACE *

Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..

* THIRD PLACE *

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

Only two more so ease up on the scratching....

*SECOND PLACE*

Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware , sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms.Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000 ...... oh, yeah, plus dental expenses.

OK. Here we go!!

* FIRST PLACE *

This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her -- are you sitting down? --- $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

**blackbird0230** · 01-13-2011, 11:05 AM

Son of a biznitch

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 11:08 AM

The winnebago story thing happend several years ago I had thought, because the story said a guy left the seat since it said auto pilot instead of cruise control. But seriously if all the other stories are true I am going to start doing shit like this I mean shit I could get rich quick.

**blue02Z** · 01-13-2011, 11:10 AM

people these days... the world is going to pew

**Spaz** · 01-13-2011, 11:10 AM

our legal system at it's finest... only in america can you do something such as punching some one in the head and kill them then sue their family for the broken bones in your hand and mental anguish and win the case...

**02sunsetorangeZ** · 01-13-2011, 11:17 AM

sometimes i wonder why its so fu**ked up

**SiggyZ** · 01-13-2011, 11:19 AM

Well, this thread is crap I think. I found out these stories were fabricated.

http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by 02sunsetorangeZ

sometimes i wonder why its so fu**ked up

Shit I don't now a day's if someone breaks into your house and you shoot them and they survive they can sue you, so morale of the story is shoot to kill.

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 11:21 AM

SiggyZ not the one about the winnebago that happend likr 5 or 6 years ago, I saw it on the news, except it was a guy!! It also said auto pilot instead of cruise control thats what winnebago changed in the manual.

**02sunsetorangeZ** · 01-13-2011, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by bluehawk2000

Shit I don't now a day's if someone breaks into your house and you shoot them and they survive they can sue you, so morale of the story is shoot to kill.

yea thats how i was raised, kill the mother effer lol. dead man cant testify

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by 02sunsetorangeZ

yea thats how i was raised, kill the mother effer lol. dead man cant testify

I know that's right, also make sure it's one shot one kill so they don't say you used excessive force, thats why I have hallow points.

**02sunsetorangeZ** · 01-13-2011, 11:57 AM

haha no doubt. prolly stock up on some hollows

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 12:02 PM

Check out the shotgun rounds in the gun thread, their is some insane home defense rounds.

**Schmalgar** · 01-13-2011, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by 02sunsetorangeZ

yea thats how i was raised, kill the mother effer lol. dead man cant testify

But their families can. Seems like I remember a story from not too long ago where a burglar's family sued the family that shot him, while he was committing his felony burglary... I'll see if I can find that...

**bluehawk2000** · 01-13-2011, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Schmalgar

But their families can. Seems like I remember a story from not too long ago where a burglar's family sued the family that shot him, while he was committing his felony burglary... I'll see if I can find that...

I know it has happend here in NC within the past 2 years, and they guy won that was shot.

**02sunsetorangeZ** · 01-13-2011, 08:03 PM

omg that is a bunch of bull shit, i couldnt imagine me asleep dogs wake me up from barking and i see someone walking in my yard with a mask and gun. i wait for him to come in shut the door and i drop his ass dead in my house and i get sued??? i know its happened but damn.

**67CamaroRSSS** · 01-13-2011, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by 02sunsetorangeZ

omg that is a bunch of bull shit, i couldnt imagine me asleep dogs wake me up from barking and i see someone walking in my yard with a mask and gun. i wait for him to come in shut the door and i drop his ass dead in my house and i get sued??? i know its happened but damn.

Hence the need for the "Castle Doctrine" in every state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_doctrine

**02sunsetorangeZ** · 01-13-2011, 08:18 PM

just rediculous. i mean if a guy in a mask and a gun breaks in i just dont understand how it is wrong but then again our everything system is just messed up. thanks for the info!