Lawsuits in the News

Why are they suing the wrong company?

How Ridiculous?
 

A Texas couple had a cargo elevator installed in their beach home and used it as a passenger lift, despite warnings that it should not be used to move people.  Now, the couple is now suing the company that did the electrical work on the unit.  The company’s owner says it’s an attempt to keep the case in notoriously plaintiff-friendly Beaumont, but vows he won’t give in: “They want us to roll over, but I’m going to fight.”

Read the story: Southeast Texas Record

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Bowling Shoe Law Being Debated in State Legislature

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A proposed law in New York would require bowling alleys to post signs warning customers not to take their rental shoes outside.  As more bowlers have started wearing their rented shoes outside, alleys have seen an increase in slip-and-fall cases – and an increase in their insurance costs.

Read the story: WGRZ

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Saudi prince sues Forbes over his rank on billionaires list

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A Saudi billionaire is suing Forbes magazine for undervaluing his wealth on its annual list of the world’s richest people.  The billionaire, ranked by Forbes as the 26th richest, says he is worth $30 billion, not the lowly $20 billion estimated by Forbes.

Read the story: Los Angeles Times

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Dead robber’s widow sues shop clerk

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A shop clerk who shot and killed an armed robber is being sued by the robber’s widow.  “He had no basis to believe that his life was in danger,” says the widow’s lawyer.  “Most robberies end with an attempt to get money.  They really don’t kill the clerks.”

Read the story: KRQE

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June Ridiculous Lawsuit Nominees: Treadmills, Track Teams, Golfers and Jaywalkers

How Ridiculous?
 

Please finish this lead sentence in a May 9 story in the Louisiana Record: “A New Orleans woman who was allegedly injured when she fell after stepping on a moving treadmill is____.”

A.       grateful the fitness club staff came to her aid swiftly.

B.       embarrassed that she didn’t understand how to use such a simple machine correctly.

C.       suing her fitness club.

If you answered anything but C, then you clearly hold too much faith in the nation’s lawsuit system. As it happens, the New Orleans treadmill case kicks off our monthly “Most Ridiculous Lawsuit” poll where we ask you, our readers, to tell us which lawsuit can rise (or sink) to the level of most ridiculous.

Our second nominee concerns the professional golfer Vijay Singh, who admitted in a January Sports Illustrated article that he had used deer-antler spray, then a banned substance for golfers. The PGA opened an investigation, only to close it after twelve weeks when antler spray was removed from the list of banned substances. Singh promptly sued, despite the fact that he had admitted to using a banned substance – and despite the fact that the 50-year-old golfer has made more than $67 million in his career (courtesy of the PGA).

Our third entry comes to us from neighborly Canada, where an Edmonton jail inmate happened to kill a fellow inmate after stomping on the victim’s head 26 times. (Unfortunately, the United States doesn’t have a monopoly on ridiculous lawsuits.) If you’re thinking that the victim’s family has sued, well, you’d be wrong. The stomping inmate has sued the jail for $500,000 for putting him in the same cell as another inmate.

Finally, to round out this month’s nominees, we have the Philadelphia-area father who’s suing the local high school for kicking his son off the track team. According to the school, the track coach removed the son from the team for unexcused absences from practice. The father disagrees and said the school violated his son’s rights. For damages, the father is asking the school to award his son the varsity letters and championship jackets for the 2012 and 2013 seasons – that, and $40 million.

You can vote on this month’s “Most Ridiculous Lawsuit” here.


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Ramps, Frogs, Bulls, Oh My!

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Vote for this Month’s Most Ridiculous Lawsuit

It doesn’t get much more ridiculous in the world of ridiculous lawsuits than last month’s winner: A woman who was suing for “severe and permanent injuries” because of a car accident nevertheless managed to finish a half-marathon (13.1 miles, that is) with the respectable time of 2 hours 43 minutes. While running 12-minute miles won’t win you any Olympic gold medals, it certainly puts you on the healthier end of the “severe and permanent injuries” scale.

Which doesn’t mean we’ve run out of ridiculous lawsuits for our readers. Quite the contrary. Part of our purpose in letting readers vote on the most ridiculous lawsuit of the month is to drive home the point that ridiculous lawsuits happen every day – and will continue to happen until we reform our tort system.

This month’s nominees for “Most Ridiculous Lawsuit” certainly meet the high bar set by our half-marathoner (click here to vote):

  • A non-disabled customer sued a local fast food restaurant after he slipped and fell on the wheelchair ramp. The restaurant is accused of “creating a dangerous ramp, failing to warn and failing to remedy an unreasonably dangerous condition.”
  • After frogs swarm his land, a homeowner seeks punitive damages because of his “frog phobia.” The man already received $1.6 million in compensation following a runoff accident that flooded his land, but apparently the little green hoppers are so terrifying he needs just $250,000 more.
  • A pro basketball fan reportedly sued his favorite player (Derrick Rose) because Rose missed the regular season with a knee injury. The Bulls still made the playoffs despite Rose’s absence, which we guess wasn’t enough to ease this fan’s emotional stress.
  • A cop who got arrested for a DUI has sued the city that fired him. Claiming a violation of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the (former) police officer is seeking $6 million in the suit.

So which one is the most ridiculous lawsuit of the month? Cast your ballot now.


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Fitness club member injured after stepping on moving treadmill sues

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A gym member who was injured after stepping onto (and flying off of) a spinning treadmill is suing her fitness club because there were no signs or employees to tell her not to do it.

Read the story: Louisiana Record

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Vijay Singh sues PGA Tour

How Ridiculous?
 

Professional golfer Vijay Singh is suing the PGA for exposing him to “public humiliation and ridicule.”  The golfer admitted to using deer antler spray, a banned substance, during a magazine interview.  The tour started a follow-up investigation but dropped the case after the World Anti-Doping Agency decided deer antler spray should not be a banned substance.

Read the story: ESPN

Average Ridiculousness Rating: 
 
 

Oregon police officer fired after drunken driving crash sues city

How Ridiculous?
 

A police officer who was fired after he was cited for drunk driving is now suing the city, claiming a violation of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The former officer, who was not injured when he drove an unmarked police car into a ditch while off duty, is seeking $6 million in the suit.

Read the story: Washington Post

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Peoria man reportedly files suit against Derrick Rose

How Ridiculous?
 

A Chicago Bulls fan is suing star Derrick Rose for sitting out the season after an injury, saying that Rose’s absence has caused him mental anguish and led to weight gain.  Rose tore his ACL in the playoffs last year, and hasn’t played at all this season as he rehabs.

Read the story: CSN Chicago

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Man with frog phobia not entitled to punitive damages

How Ridiculous?
 

A New York homeowner who won a $1.6 million verdict when runoff water flooded his property is not entitled to punitive damages.  The homeowner, who is “petrified” of bullfrogs because of a childhood incident, wanted an additional $250,000 in damages for the frogs that now inhabit the flooded land.  However, as part of the verdict, a drainage ditch will be dug in the hopes that the water recedes and the frogs leave with it.

Read the story: Associated Press

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Lawsuits in the Land of Oz?

How Ridiculous?
 

While the fantasy flick, Oz the Great and Powerful, has racked up big bucks at the Box Office — a real-life “Oz” may be forced to spend big bucks to fight a ridiculous lawsuit.

Apparently, TV doctor “Dr. Oz” featured a home insomnia cure in which he recommended viewers warm their socks in the microwave with rice inside.   One New Jersey man claims he suffered burned feet as a result of this “cure” — and has taken Dr. Oz to court.

That’s just one of the lawsuits we feature in this month’s “Most Ridiculous Lawsuit” poll.

Click here to vote in this month’s poll.

If you think this “Dr. Oz” lawsuit is crazy — just wait until you read more about our other nominees:

  • Man hit by truck on rotating platform in showroom sues auto dealer .

  • Shopper sues department store after walking face first into glass display.

  • Woman suing over “severe and permanent injuries” still able to complete half-marathon .

Which of these do you think is the most ridiculous?

Click here to cast your vote.

Each month, we scour the news to find lawsuits just like these and present them as part of our Faces of Lawsuit Abuse campaign.  We never find a shortage of crazy lawsuits to present, and we’re betting that the more Americans read about these ridiculous examples, the more they will clamor for reforms that make America’s legal system simpler, fairer and faster for everyone.


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Metro settles class action with free rides

How Ridiculous?
 

A class action lawsuit alleges that the St. Louis transit organization printed receipts with too much information, although no passengers are known to have suffered identity theft as a result.  Customers who saved their receipts from 2010-2011 are eligible for $72 worth of passes or a cash payment of $30, while those that don’t have their receipt get one free ride.

Read the story: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Disabled Man Awarded $8K From Disneyland For Being Stuck On Ride

How Ridiculous?
 

A man who spent 30 minutes listening to “It’s a Small World” when the ride broke down has won $8,000 in a lawsuit against Disney.

Read the story: CBS

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United Airlines MileagePlus member files class-action lawsuit over frequent flyer miles

How Ridiculous?
 

A frequent flier is suing United Airlines for the way it calculates reward miles.  Like most airlines, the company uses the “great circle distance,” or the number of miles between two points.  However, the disgruntled flier wants the company to calculate the actual number of miles flown by each customer.

Read the story: Cleveland Plain-Dealer

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NYC art museum accused of duping visitors on fees

How Ridiculous?
 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is facing a class action lawsuit from visitors who paid the suggested entry fee of $25, not knowing that they could enter the museum even if they paid less.

Read the story: Associated Press

Average Ridiculousness Rating: 
 
 

Man sues Dr. Oz after show’s tip to fall asleep results in burned feet

How Ridiculous?
 

Alleging that a tip for curing insomnia by filling one’s socks with warm rice  left him with burned feet, a New Yorker is suing Dr. Oz for recommending it on his show.  The plaintiff, who suffers from numbness in the feet due to diabetes, says Dr. Oz’s warning to make sure the socks don’t get too hot was insufficient.

Read the story: New York Daily News

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Man sues Macy’s after walking face first into glass display

How Ridiculous?
 

A North Carolinian who was injured after he walked into a clear glass display case is suing Macy’s for creating a dangerous situation in the store.  The plaintiff adds that he is in no way responsible for the incident.

Read the story: Louisiana Record

Average Ridiculousness Rating: 
 
 

Suit over shoplifting “free samples”

How Ridiculous?
 

A man who was arrested for shoplifting after he filled two produce bags with pounds of “free samples” is suing the supermarket that reported him and the sheriff’s deputies that arrested him, saying they overreacted to the situation.

Read the story: Pioneer Press

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Shopper struck by display vehicle on spinning platform, sues Daylight Motors

How Ridiculous?
 

A dealership is being sued by a man who claims he was hit by one of their trucks…as it slowly rotated on a viewing platform.  The plaintiff claims a salesperson invited him to take a look at the truck without warning him of the dangers that the spinning platform created.

Read the story: Southeast Texas Record

Average Ridiculousness Rating: 
 
 
 
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June 2013

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