...and THIS is the WORLD "around" us ... !!!

The 'Stella' awards rank up there with the Darwin awards. In 1994, a 
New
Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S. in damages to 81-year-old Stella
Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her legs, groin and buttocks
after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself. This case 
inspired an
annual award - The 'Stella' Award - for the most frivolous lawsuit in 
the
U.S.

The ones listed below are clear candidates - with the right attorney 
you
could win anything!

1. January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was awarded 
$780,000 by
a jury after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running
inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably
surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little bastard 
was
Ms.Robertson's son.

2. June 1998: A 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and
medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda 
Accord.
Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of 
the
car, when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

3. October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was 
leaving a
house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not 
able to
get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was
malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door 
connecting
the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on
vacation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight 
days. He
subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. 
He
sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue
mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.

4. October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded 
$14,500
and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next 
door
neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's owner's fenced-in 
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 was shooting it
repeatedly with a pellet gun.

5. May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson 
of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and 
broke
her coccyx. The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson threw it 
at her
boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

6. December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued 
the
owner of a night club in a neighboring 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.

And the winner is:

Mr Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November 2000 Mr Grazinski 
purchased
a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first Trip home, 
having
joined the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left 
the
drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not
surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr
Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he
couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie.
(Winniebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court 
case,

just in case there are any other complete morons buying their 
vehicles.)

Have a great Weekend...:-)

(--_--)