2003 True Stella Awards Announces Outrageous Lawsuits; Web Site Chronicles Bizarre and Frivolous Lawsuit Abuse.Business Editors RIDGWAY, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2004 The most bizarre and frivolous civil lawsuits of 2003 were announced Wednesday by StellaAwards.com, which researches actual cases of weird lawsuits filed in the U.S. The runners up include a high school student whose school kicked him off its baseball team after the Securities and Exchange Commission said he made an illegal profit of over $1 million in a stock fraud case. Because he couldn't play ball, he said pro scouts wouldn't be able to see him play and thus he'd miss out on a pro sports career. He has sued his school to recover the $50 million salary he figures he would have made in the big leagues. In another case, a man hit by lightning -- the classic example of an "act of God" -- sued the amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. he was attending because the park didn't warn him not to be outside in a thunderstorm thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. . "Most people figure judges would quickly throw these cases out," says StellaAwards.com founder Randy Cassingham Randy Cassingham is an American syndicated columnist, humorist, publisher, and speaker. He is a former member of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has been the keynote speaker at several of The Skeptics Society's annual conventions. . "But last we heard, both of these cases are still pending." Named for Stella Liebeck, who sued McDonald's after spilling hot coffee in her lap, the True Stella Awards The Stella Awards are awards given to people who file ridiculous lawsuits, named after a woman named Stella Liebeck who, in 1992, spilled a cup of McDonalds' coffee onto her lap, causing third degree burns. She sued McDonalds and was awarded USD$2. publishes case reports online at www.StellaAwards.com. E-mail subscriptions to the cases are free. The True Stella Awards are not to be confused with an urban legend Myths about anything and everything that barely have a shred of truth in them, yet seem to take on a persistent life of their own. Before the Internet, such urban folklore as "alligators in New York City sewers" was carried in magazines and newspapers. e-mail that has been going around for several years under the name "Stella Awards." The cases listed in that e-mail are fictitious Based upon a fabrication or pretense. A fictitious name is an assumed name that differs from an individual's actual name. A fictitious action is a lawsuit brought not for the adjudication of an actual controversy between the parties but merely for the purpose of , Cassingham says. "The classic case of a guy crashing his Winnebago after turning on the cruise control See adaptive cruise control. and going to the back while speeding down the freeway is false," he says of the urban legend. "I started the True Stella Awards to counter those fake cases. Why use made-up evidence to drive discussion of a real problem?" Indeed, Cassingham has no difficulty finding real cases to feature, he says. The financial load of lawsuits in general is staggering, and impacts every sector of the economy. A 2002 study found lawsuit costs represent 2.33 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The runners up and winner of the 2003 Stellas, as well as a listing of the bogus cases, are available on the web site. |
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