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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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Perhaps the idiot who brought the claim could now be tarred and feathered?
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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Your comment, of course, makes the assumption that the McDonald's coffee case was stupid. Frivolous, maybe (that's a matter of opinion -- it's your country, not mine). But there were mitigating factors that prevent it from sounding, to me, at least, even a tenth as stupid as this one.
In any case, the comparison is not really valid since in this case the plaintiff *lost* whereas in the coffee case she *won*.
David
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... that you, as an American, can say, 'another judge with good sense', presumably because you genuinely felt that there was a chance that the case would *not* be thrown out is rather frightening. Is it really going that way in America?
David
[Updated on: Mon, 25 June 2007 16:45] |
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The coffee case was stupid, well at least the lady was stupid. She was 82 years old and by any stretch of the imagination should have known better than to put the coffee between her legs in a moving car and open the lid. Your right this is probably the only country where people can get away with stuff like this and sometimes actually win.
[Updated on: Mon, 25 June 2007 16:55]
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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David, this country has so many frivilous law suits and some that are downright stupid, and it ties up our judicial system.
[Updated on: Mon, 25 June 2007 16:59]
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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Yes, perhaps that was stupid of her. But there was also plenty of evidence that McDonald's were negligent in making their coffee so hot. Selling coffee that would scald if used for the purpose for which it was intended -- i.e. drunk!
Google it. The case is not clear cut. People are not awarded money simply for doing stupid things.
http://www.centerjd.org/free/mythbusters-free/MB_mcdonalds.htm
David
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If they are obviously frivolous then it should be a matter of course that they are thrown out. So in fact it's not good that the case has been thrown out now, two years down the line -- it is the worst possible situation, surely? All that wasted time and effort and a result that was obvious from the beginning?
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Ah, but people do get awarded money for stupid things in this country. Thats why insurance companies dont like to go to court, they know the jury is not going to be on their side.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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Please give examples. Not 'urban legend' ones -- *real* ones. Real ones in which the result was not only stupid but stood on appeal.
Frivolous lawsuits may be two a penny but that doesn't mean that they all win.
David
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I know that he legal system in Britain is a bit different than ours. Americans feel like it is their basic right to sue and be heard in court no mater how stupid the case. Judges wont throw them out because {A} they have lawyer friends handling the case {B} Most judges are elected and dont want to piss off the voters.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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The coffee case didnt stand on appeal. The issue is how much time is waisted and money over these things. It nearly bankrupted those laundry people and your right it should have been thrown out from the get go, but it wasnt. Watch our news, its full of this silly stuff.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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I thought the voters were pissed off by frivolous lawsuits?
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Didn't stand on appeal?
They eventually settled out of court but this does not mean that it didn't stand. Rather, it meant that McDonald's took it seriously enough to believe that they would never have won.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_coffee_case#Verdict_and_settlement
David
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Not enough
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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In fact I hate to say it but even Bush wants to pass laws reforming Torte cases. Throw out the frivoulus ones and limit the amount of money that can be awarded.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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David, the little old lady is going to sit there looking all pathetic and grandmotherly and MCDonalds is going to be the big bad corporate giant. The jury is going to get all emotional and side with the grandmother. Justic is supposed to be blind, unfortunately the jury isnt.
If you stand for Freedom, but you wont stand for war, then you dont stand for anything worth fighting for.
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Roger, I think one of the reasons there are so many frivolous law suits in this country is because big corporations encourage them by their actions. They look at what they consider a 'nuisance' suit and offer the claimant a sum of money to go away. Corporation's lawyers are often willing to settle because their clients don't want their product name involved in litigation that will attract public awareness. People then jump on the bandwagon and sue everyone they can think of in hopes that they will receive a settlement to make them go away too.
I, personally, don't believe settlements should be allowed. If you are sued, you should have to go to trial. The loser should then pay the trial expenses of the winner. People wouldn't be so quick to sue unless they strongly believed themselves to be in the right. The corporations would still lose a lot of cases because people (juries) tend to side with the 'little guy', but there would be fewer civil suits for them to contend with.
Youth crisis hot-line 866-488-7386, 24 hr (U.S.A.)
There are people who want to help you cope with being you.
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Not all of these survived the appeal process and some are still pending, but most are stupid:
Starting with the coffee case
In February 1992, Stella Liebeck ordered a cup of coffee to go from McDonalds. Liebeck was sitting in the passenger seat of her nephew’s car, which was pulled over so she could add sugar to her coffee. While removing the cup’s lid, Liebeck spilled her hot coffee, burning her legs. It was determined that Liebeck suffered third degree burns on over six percent of her body. Originally, Liebeck sought $20,000 in damages. McDonalds refused to settle out of court. However, they should have. Liebeck was ultimately awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages, which was reduced to $160,000 because she was found to be twenty percent at fault. She was also awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages.
In September 1988, two Akron, Ohio-based carpet layers named Gordon Falker and Gregory Roach were severely burned when a three and a half gallon container of carpet adhesive ignited when the hot water heater it was sitting next to kicked on. Both men felt the warning label on the back of the can was insufficient. Words like “flammable” and “keep away from heat” didn’t prepare them for the explosion. They filed suit against the adhesive manufacturers, Para-Chem. A jury obviously agreed since the men were awarded $8 million for their troubles.
In 1992, 23-year old Karen Norman accidentally backed her car into Galveston Bay after a night of drinking. Norman couldn’t operate her seat belt and drowned. Her passenger managed to disengage herself and make it to shore. Norman ’s parents sued Honda for making a seat belt their drunken daughter (her blood alcohol level was .17 – nearly twice the legal limit) couldn’t open underwater. A jury found Honda seventy-five percent responsible for Karen’s death and awarded the Norman family $65 million. An appeals court threw out the case.
In 1997, Larry Harris of Illinois broke into a bar owned by Jessie Ingram. Ingram, the victim of several break-ins, had recently set a trap around his windows to deter potential burglars. Harris, 37, who was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, must have missed the warning sign prominently displayed in the window. He set off the trap as he entered the window, electrocuting himself. The police refused to file murder charges. Harris’s family saw it differently, however, and filed a civil suit against Ingram. A jury originally awarded the Harris family $150,000. Later, the award was reduced to $75,000 when it was decided Harris should share at least half of the blame.
In 2003, Richard Schick sued his former employer, the Illinois Department of Public Aid. Schick sought $5 million plus $166,700 in back pay for sexual and disability discrimination. In fact, Shick was so stressed by this discrimination that he robbed a convenience store with a shotgun. A jury felt his pain and awarded him the money he was seeking. The decision was then reversed. Unfortunately, the $303,830 he was still awarded isn’t doing him much good during the ten years he’s serving for armed robbery.
A Baltimore woman filed a class-action lawsuit against a major airline because she was denied a free in-flight meal en route to the Dominican Republic. The woman was told the breakfast would cost an additional $3.00 due to a change in airline policy. She is seeking compensation plus interest for herself and on behalf of others in her situation. (Daily Record, February 6, 2007)
A Mississippi mother sued her local school district for $1.75 million alleging that three teachers at the school scared her child by dressing up in witch costumes. (Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2007)
A Northbrook, Illinois parent sued a concert facility after a traffic jam caused her and her family to miss an ‘N Sync concert. Although 45,000 people made it into the facility on time for the concert, the plaintiff blamed her tardiness on the sponsors, saying they weren’t adequately prepared for the large crowds. (Chicago Sun-Times, February 10, 2007)
A New Jersey doctor who collided with his then 11-year-old inline skating neighbor when he was on his bicycle is suing the child for pain and suffering. The doctor claims the child was negligent and caused the collision by stepping into his path while trying to get out of his way. (Daily Record, March 1, 2007)
A New Jersey woman who fell off a bar while dancing with her friends in a “Shake-it-like-Shakira” contest sued the Manhattan bar that sponsored the shake-off, claiming the bar should have known the contest was “dangerous.” (WCBS-TV, November 7, 2007)
A Chicago man sued a fellow golfer for failing to yell “fore” after hitting the golf ball that struck him in the head. After being struck, the plaintiff finished his golf round, ate dinner and drank some cocktails at the clubhouse but claims he later developed headaches and blurred vision. In a bizarre twist of fate (and perhaps karma), the defendant happens to be one of Chicago’s most prominent personal injury lawyers. (Chicago Sun-Times, December 1, 2006)
When a dump-truck backed into a Lodi, CA man’s car he decided to sue the city for damages. The only problem being, he was the one driving the dump truck. This minor detail, however, didn’t stop this upstanding city employee from filing a $3,600 claim for the accident even after admitting the crash was his fault. When the city rejected the claim, the man and his wife refiled the lawsuit under her name. (Associated Press, March 16, 2006)
A psychologist who was denied a pink tote bag during a Mother’s Day giveaway at a Los Angeles Angels’ baseball game has sued the team, alleging that thousands of males and fans under 18 were “treated unequally” and entitled to $4,000 each in damages. (Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2006)
A man who claims to have fallen prey to a prank that left him glued to a toilet at Home Depot sued the retailer for $3 million. The man alleges that the prank left him humiliated and injured, stating “It is not about the money. I want my health back. I want to be back to normal.” (Associated Press, November 2005)
Two Colorado teens thought they’d surprise neighbors with nighttime deliveries of home-baked treats. But one woman was so unnerved by the knocks at her door she sought care for an anxiety attack, and then sued. The teenage cookie-leavers tried to apologize, but the women still won $900 in damages for emotional distress. (Denver Post, February 5, 2005)
A train conductor settled for $8.5 million from a railroad company after claiming a collision between his commuter train and a freight train worsened his alcoholism. (Associated Press, Feb 2, 2005)
A student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas sued the university for $10,000 for emotional duress, tuition, books and living expenses after receiving a B-minus grade. The student claimed he was discriminated against due to his conservative beliefs and that the offending professor’s fast-paced lectures prevented him from taking complete notes. (Associated Press, February 4, 2005)
A Tennessee woman filed a lawsuit for billions of dollars against Super Bowl half-time performers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake as well as the broadcasters, saying she was injured by the performers’ lewd actions when Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson’s costume, exposing her breast. According to the suit, she suffered outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury. (Associated Press, February 5, 2004)
A Cook County, Illinois, couple sued American Airlines because they didn’t have enough leg room and subsequently were cramped aboard a flight to Paris. Their lawsuit sought more than $100,000 in damages. (Chicago Sun-Times, May 14, 2004)
A contestant and winner of $48,400 on the Wheel of Fortune sued the popular game show for injuries suffered during the taping. The contestant alleged that he received a back injury when host Pat Sajak “leapt at his body with unbridled enthusiasm with a full-weight embrace.” (Washington Post, October 18, 2003)
[Updated on: Tue, 26 June 2007 03:36]
(\\__/) And if you don't believe The sun will rise
(='.'=) Stand alone and greet The coming night
(")_(") In the last remaining light. (C. Cornell)
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