[pyro]

"Only in US-America"
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 the 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 Stella's for the past year:

7th 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.

6th 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.
Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.

5th 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, 8, days 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...

4th 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.
Grrrrr. Scratch, scratch.

3rd 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?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...

2nd 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.

1st PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos, please?)
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased a 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.
No Comment...

[CriticalHit]

Some people are too spoiled.

[taebins_luver]

lolz

you're right,
only in america would you get away with the dumbest crap
LOLZ

[pencil_geeks*]

the heo.. they must've had some really good attorneys. i don't like america anymore.. <sarcasm>i'm sure barack obama can fix the court system!</sarcasm>

[1nonly]

people are just retarded. but sadly, they get money for it. life is full of surprises.

[bear123]

LOl
thanks for sharing
people are retarded

[PoppinBC]

This is funny but depressing... Americans really are the most retarded people, I swear. Talk about a messed up legal system!
Reminds me of the "Caution! Contents may be hot!" warning on coffee cups because a guy burned his hand after ordering "hot coffee"

[xxctxx]

Some people are so thick...
...and sometimes life just seems to be so bloody unfair!

[passmethewrinch]

omg rofl!!!
Some people...

[misschika]

LMFAO! there are some really funny people here. But not all Americans are like that. lolz...

[MizzprEEETy]

OMG, those judges that rule in those stupid people favor suck azz!

[adorkiable]

speechless..
since the economy is bad in usa, maybe just maybe i can bring a toddler
into the store and trip, sue and go home with $80,000..
but i am not a stupid and greedy person..

7th 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.

[rapramesi]

people sure can get too retarded doing this x|

[BrOkEn_DrEaMz]

wow..it was amazing yet depressing. People would do anything for money these days.

[xeilmach]

That's why judgement day should come and wipe off America off the face of earth.

Nah nah, get a Death Note and kill all the judges and lawyers.


My Japanese teacher is being sued for making her student do 100 push-ups for not turning his work in.

A crippled old man is sueing my father because he couldn't get into the restaurant's women restroom since it had a not wide enough entrance for a wheelchair (Reread that if you don't find the retardedness in that)

[ChouChou]

WHAT THE HELL!!
this post was more annoying then funny
what the hell kinda judges and jury are on these cases!

[G-D]

what the eff
-.-
how dumb

[lulunotlemon*]

omg wtf

these people are just...wow.

They're so effin greedy. and ever heard of think before you do things? - -

[Keiyun]

You've GOT to be kidding me.

... I could make a living off suing people like that.

[lub_kuri]

In North America you can sue anyone for anything even the littliest thing.
these are insane though and the judge must be on crack