These People Take “Frivolous Lawsuit” To a Whole New Level
It seems like you can sue people for pretty much anything these days. For many, the thought of getting involved in a law suit is terrifying, with unaffordable legal fees and endless trials where lawyers use their knowledge of the system to twist your brain and squeeze your wallet. However, for some, the prospect of winning a boat load of money out of a big corporation eases the ache, and people have gotten seriously creative with the ways they use the legal system to try to sue their way to the top!
You got a friend in law school? SHARE this so they can weigh in on the craziness!
Credit: Chaikom/Shutterstock.com
Start the slideshow below to decide which of these is the most ridiculous!
McScalding
Credit: 1000 Words/Shutterstock.com
In 1992, one unhappy customer definitely wasn’t lovin’ the product that she got from the famous golden arches. Stella Lieback spilled a cup of piping hot McDonald’s coffee on her legs while she was sitting in her car and received third-degree burns, forcing her into to years of skin grafts and treatment for her injuries. After an unsuccessful attempt to settle $20k out of McDonald’s to cover her medical costs, the then-79-year-old brought the corporation to court and she ended up with nearly $3 million in damages.
Dieback got a fair dose of fame for her lawsuit – and today she’s the namesake of the Stella Awards, which honor the most laughable frivolous lawsuits.
Blame it on Hollywood
Credit: Logoboom/Shutterstock.com
After the Columbine High School shootings in 2001, families of the victims were looking for ways to get even for the terrible loss they had suffered, some in more creative ways than others. Linda Sanders and representatives from other victims’ families sued more than 25 film and video game studios for $5 BILLION, claiming that the violence displayed in the games and movies released by these companies influenced the shooter, and that they were to blame for the deaths of the victims. The case was thrown out, and the plaintiffs had to pay for all of the legal fees for the film and game studios. Ouch.
But This Wasn’t Hollywood’s First Rodeo
Credit: Breakermaximus/Shutterstock.com
In 1995, Patsy Ann Byers was shot in a robbery committed by Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darrus, and she was paralyzed from the neck down. She sued the pair in ’95, and the next year they added Oliver Stone and Warner Brother’s to the list of defendants, claiming that the distribution of “Natural Born Killers” is what caused the criminals to go on their crime spree. This ludicrous part of the claim was dropped from the case in 2001. The lesson? It’s NEVER Hollywood’s fault.
Save Me From Myself
Credit: John Panella/Shutterstock.com
So there’s this thing called negligent security, and if you’re a victim that should have been under protection from some authority (a hospital, school, jail) that fails to provide you protection, you’ve got grounds for legal action. However, in 2002 a man named Edward Brewer raped a patient at the Providence Hospital and proceeded to sue them for $2 million, claiming that it was the hospital’s responsibility to stop him from raping the woman. The case was thrown out, obviously, but you gotta give the guy some creativity points for trying!
Too Haunted to Handle
Credit: Kamira/Shutterstock.com
After visiting Universal Studios in 2000, a woman named Cleanthi Peters sued the theme park for $15k, claiming that the Halloween Horror Nights Haunted house was “too scary,” and caused her extreme fear, mental anguish, and emotional distress. Lady, people go into the haunted house because they WANT those things. This one’s on you, boo-boo.
This Pirate had a Walking Cane, Not an Eye Patch
Credit: Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley/Shutterstock.com
Remember in the early 2000’s when everybody was stealing their music from Limewire and other music-pirating programs? In 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued a woman named Gertrude Walton (who died the previous year at age 83) – claiming that she had illegally downloaded over 700 songs. Watson’s daughter claimed that her mother didn’t even own a computer, and the charges were dropped (sketchy, much, RIAA?). However, there were 20,000 similar court cases – with defendants ranging from 12-year-old girls to families that didn’t even know HOW to pirate music.
But these charges are no laughing matter – people who commit music piracy can face fees of up to $150,000 PER SONG.
Fear the Fear
Credit: Gosphotodesign/Shutterstock.com
Seems like a lot of Americans don’t get the concept of scary entertainment. Austin Aitken sued NBC in 2005 for $2.5 million, claiming that he suffered injury and great pain after watching an episode of “Fear Factor.” Apparently watching contestants devour rats made him sick, and he threw up and smashed into a doorway. Sounds like a reasonable case for $2.5 million to me! Just kidding. No it does’t. The case was dismissed.
It’s Not My Fault I Look Famous
Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Remember that crazy guy that kinda looks like Michael Jordan, so he sued him?? In 2006, Allen Heckard sued Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil night for a show-stopping $832 MILLION. Heckard claimed that his resemblance to Jordan caused people to stop him in the streets asking if he was the basketball player – causing him defamation (?) permanent in jury (?) and emotional pain (?). The case was thrown out, and the judge reportedly said: “Listen, Michael is a good-looking dude, bro. Take the compliment and get the hell out of my court room.” Not really. But probably.
Sue-i-cide
Credit: Chaikom/Shutterstock.com
This guy probably takes the cake for most out-there lawsuit: Robert Lee Brock sued HIMSELF for $5 million in 1995, claiming that he violated his own personal code of civil rights and religious beliefs. Brock got drunk and committed grand larceny and breaking and entering on a big scale – earning him a 23-year sentence. Apparently he thought if he won the case, the state would have to pay the sum, since he wasn’t allowed an income while in jail. Sadly, it didn’t work out. Creative use of the system, though!
Bud Light – Hot Chicks Sold Separately
Credit: Mandritoiu/Shutterstock.com
In 1991 Richard Overton was apparently super bummed when he cracked his can of Bud Light and the chicks and fantasy vacations didn’t come rushing to his side, like the advertisements on TV said they would. Overton sued Anheuser-Busch for false advertising and claimed emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss (somehow exceeding $10k). The whole thing was just a hot mess-express, and the case was dismissed. Sheesh.
Alma Hater
Credit: Ollyy/Shutterstock.com
When Trina Thompson was dissatisfied that her IT degree wasn’t getting her a job in 2009, she decide to sue the Office of Career Advancement at Monroe College in the Bronx for $70k, the amount she had spent on her degree. Unfortunately, college doesn’t work that way, and her suit was unsuccessful. I like the way she thinks, though.
Finger Food
Credit: James R. Martin/Shutterstock.com
Remember when everybody was freaking out because apparently a woman in San Jose, California, had found a finger in her chilly from Wendy’s? Anna Ayala sued the company in what would have been a very lucrative move her her, if she hadn’t staged the whole thing herself. After some CSI investigation revealed that the finger didn’t come from the food chain, Ayala and her husband admitted to conspiracy and she and her husband got nine years and twelve years in prison, respectively.
The worst part? Ayala’s husband had bought the finger for $100 after a co-worker lost it in an on-the-job accident, promising him cut of the profits to shut up about it.
I’m Gonna Sue Your Pants Off! (Literally)
Credit: Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock.com
Roy L. Pearson was a Washington DC judge with a weird agenda – he had it out for his dry cleaners. After he never got back a pair of pants that was misplaced at the service, he sued the local dry cleaning business claiming that he never got the “Same day service” or “guaranteed satisfaction” that they advertised. He filed a whopping $67 million lawsuit against them. In the end, the judge (not pearson) ruled in favor of the Chungs, who owned the dry cleaners, but everybody ended up losing. The Chungs had to close two of their 3 branches to afford legal fees, and Pearson was put on probation from his job as a judge after proving that he was kind of crazy and insane. Serves him right!
Calm Down, Jack***
Credit: Alexandra Giese/Shutterstock.com
IN 1997, a man named Robert Craft legally changed his name to “Jack Ass,” somehow spinning it as a movement to support awareness of drunk driving. When MTV came out with their series of the same name a few years later, the man formerly known as Craft sued Viacom for $10 million in damages for plagiarism and defamation. In classic Johnny Knoxville fashion, the fearless star of the show simply responded “I can’t wait to get served the papers. What could be more American than just suing the living s___ out of someone for no reason at all?”
Wrong Address
Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
It’s no secret that some people have the same name, and you’ve probably gotten a piece of mail before that was actually meant for someone else. But you’ve probably never gotten a piece of mail for somebody with the same name as you containing a check for $301,000. That’s what happened to Mark Guthrie, a newspaper carrier for the Hartford Courant. He received the paycheck (for only one month) that was meant to go to Mark Guthrie the Chicago Cubs player!
The mixup could have ended nicely, only not-rich-and-famous Guthrie deposited the check, and when the company located the money and began withdrawing it from his account, he froze the assets and told them that they could have it as long as he wouldn’t be caught up in any messy tax business. Instead, the Tribune Co. sued Guthrie for the rest of the money, and he went back to his not-$310k-paycheck.