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.
> So keep your head scratcher handy.
> >
> >
> > Here are the Stellas for year -- 2011:
> >
> >
> > *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. What ever happened to people being responsible
> for their own actions?
> >
> > 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. Go figure.
> >
> >
> > 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.
> > If you think the court system is out of control, be sure to pass
> > this one on.
> >
> > 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.
> So keep your head scratcher handy.
> >
> >
> > Here are the Stellas for year -- 2011:
> >
> >
> > *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. What ever happened to people being responsible
> for their own actions?
> >
> > 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. Go figure.
> >
> >
> > 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.
> > If you think the court system is out of control, be sure to pass
> > this one on.
...........
