Posted on 01/01/2012 10:59:04 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
The U.S. has been the undisputed lawsuit capital of the world for some time. And while the courts play a central role in resolving disputes and maintaining a civil society, that function isn’t easy when they are packed with frivolous suits.
Ridiculous lawsuits clog up our legal system’s dwindling resources, taking time away from legitimate grievances to devote to the vindictive, the hypocritical, the irresponsible, and the outright absurd.
With that in mind, FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org has compiled some of the most egregious examples of frivolous and abusive litigation from around the country and asked you to tell us which ones were the most ridiculous. These suits range from the comical and absurd to the disturbing, but they all underscore a real problem – lawsuits hurt businesses, families, and everyday Americans through lost time, money and job growth.
So which lawsuits are the doozies this past year? First, here’s the lawsuit that you thought was the most ridiculous:
Convict sues couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police. A man who kidnapped a couple at knifepoint while he was running from the police is now suing the victims, claiming that they promised to hide him in exchange for an unspecified amount of money. The plaintiff, currently in jail, is seeking $235,000 for the alleged “breach of contract.”
And here’s the rest of the top ten as determined by you who voted at FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org:
Man suing for age discrimination says judge in his case is too old. A 60-year-old musician who is suing for age discrimination wants the judge removed from the case – because he’s too old. Ironically, the plaintiff says his fight against age-based discrimination is too important to leave in the hands of the 88-year-old judge.
Young adults sue mother for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites. The plaintiffs, now 20 and 23, claimed the mother “sometimes didn’t include gifts in cards sent to her children; played favorites with her children . . . did not send care packages until his sixth semester away at college . . . changed her surname, thus ‘causing attention’ at her daughter’s school events; and refused to buy her a homecoming dress.”
Obese man sues burger joint over tight squeeze in booths. A nearly-300 pound man is suing White Castle restaurants, saying that their booths are too tight to accommodate someone of his size. In fact, he’s so distraught by the booths that he hasn’t been to White Castle in months (instead, he sends his wife to pick up his burgers so he can eat them at home).
Woman sues over movie trailer; says not enough driving in ‘Drive’. A Michigan woman who claims she was misled by the trailers for the movie ‘Drive’ is suing the distributors of the film. She says she was disappointed by the lack of driving in the film and was expecting something more similar to the ‘Fast and Furious’ films.
Mom files suit against exclusive preschool over child’s college prospects. A New Yorker is suing a private preschool, saying the school’s curriculum has seriously hurt her 4-year-old’s chances of getting into an Ivy League college.
Man sues bar for not disarming him before he started drinking (and fighting). A Pennsylvania man illegally brought a gun into a bar, then got injured in a drunken shootout with another patron, and now has sued the bar for not searching him for a weapon on his way in.
Passenger’s lawsuit says cruise ship was too fast. An Indiana woman is suing Carnival Cruise Line, claiming she got sick because the boat was going too fast and was swaying from side to side.
Woman disagrees with store over 80¢ refund, sues for $5m. A New York woman decided to make a $5 million federal case out of a disagreement over 80¢. Her suit says she used a $5-off coupon when she purchased a bevy of items for over $100. When she returned one of the items, the store pro-rated the refund to account for the discount.
Mother sues Chuck E. Cheese – says games encourage gambling in children. A California woman has filed a lawsuit against Chuck E. Cheese on the grounds that their games are actually an illegal form of gambling and could get kids hooked. She is seeking at least $5 million; the restaurant says the games are legal and has asked a judge to dismiss the suit.
1. Las Vegas Review Journal has 23 links on every one of their online articles encouraging people to ‘share’ them. Then, they hire lawyers under the name of “Righthaven” to sue anyone who shares the articles for copyright infringement.
My Favorite: “Woman sues over movie trailer; says not enough driving in ‘Drive’. A Michigan woman who claims she was misled by the trailers for the movie ‘Drive’ is suing the distributors of the film.”
Too Funny, but not funny enough! Now I am going to sue both the original writer of this story and the poster for not giving me enough laughs.
One nitpick: As bad as the US tort system is, England is the undisputed champion when it comes to frivolous libel suits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libel_tourism
Man Killed by Train is Sued: Flying Body Parts Injured Woman
I think that it is sad that there are so many people involved in this lunacy. And that we have a judicial system that allows this to continue.
A thorough cleansing of the gene pool is long overdue.
Just one common thread through each and every story. A low life, ambulance chasing, scum sucking attorney.
Sounds like Righthaven is folding it’s tent, one can only hope it is for good.
I weigh in at 260 lbs.and am over 6 ‘ tall, I went to Outback for my New Years Eve dinner and they sat me in a booth, that I had one hell of a time getting in and out of.
I usually ask for a table where I can slide the chair in and out and get comfortable, but last night they were too busy for such requests.
I have some small sympathy for the fat guy and small booths, but fact is he could go somewhere else to eat.\ or get his burgers carry-out.
It’s certainly nothing to sue over.
More than folding their tent, they were put out of business and a judge ordered all their assets seized. Their website donation is currently being auctioned off.
I think the most ridiculous lawsuit of the year was Eric the Holder suing Arizonans for doing the jobs the Feds don’t want to do.
Most of these will not survive a motion for summary dismissal. Anyone can file a lawsuit, but many of the craziest ones get filtered out before trial.
I think that one was left off intentionally. The guy tried to run across the tracks in front of a train. The train sent him flying into someone, breaking that person’s leg and wrist. That person sues the estate for medical expenses. That seems reasonable to me.
Who do you think should pay the bill? The ovner of the train? The person who was standing their minding his own business and suddenly ended up with a broken leg? The taxpayers?
I know it will add pain to the family, but he acted in an irresponsible manner and put others at risk.
OK, I just had to look this one up and just as I supposed, this is a jail-house lawyer suing from the prison. Since he is suing "pro se" (without a lawyer) all he has to do is to fill out the paperwork and submit it to the proper court of jurisdiction. As a 'pauper', he has no court cost or filing fee to pay so he just files and forces his victims to defend themselves.
In an equitable world (Ha-Ha), this lawsuit would not survive the court clerk who would hand it to the presiding judge for summary dismissal. However our legal system has so empowered criminals as victims as to presume that every case is another Miranda or Gideon and thus requiring full handling. It will be interesting to see which way this one goes since it was only filed in November of 2011 and thus maybe these victims already victimized once won't be victimized again beyond what they face now!
Oh, dear, I now see that I missed a chance to acquire some ill-begotten gains. I took a Carnival cruise, and the ship ran into Hurricane Rita on the last day of the cruise. I had to spend the day in our cabin, seasick, while my husband, the retired Navy man, ran around the ship spending like, well, a drunken sailor (except he wasn't drunk). I should have sued for not being warned at the time we booked the cruise, months previously, that there would be a hurricane.
Mother sues Chuck E. Cheese – says games encourage gambling in children. A California woman has filed a lawsuit against Chuck E. Cheese on the grounds that their games are actually an illegal form of gambling and could get kids hooked. She is seeking at least $5 million; the restaurant says the games are legal and has asked a judge to dismiss the suit.
I can think of other reasons one might want to sue Chuck E. Cheese--decorating the restaurant with creepy animatronics that can cause kids to have nightmares for months being one of them--but this is just silly. Has this woman thought about suing establishments for having gumball machines? After all, with those, kids almost always get a payout for dropping their coin in the slot.
Loser pay is the only way to go.
Add in double-dealing, underhanded, coniving, ruthless, ethics-challenged, blood-smelling shark & you've described the defense attorney I'd want, if I ever needed one.
Mark
Q: What do you call it when a 100 seat bus goes over a cliff and 99 lawyers drown in the ocean?
A: Not enough lawyers.
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