Radio Candy Stunt Not So Sweet (Woman sues when "100 Grand" prize turns out to be chocolate bar)

The Smoking Gun ^ | 06-23-05 | The Smoking Gun

[rawhide]

JUNE 23--A Kentucky woman who thought she won $100,000 in a radio station giveaway is suing for breach of contract after learning that her prize was actually a Nestle's 100 Grand candy bar. According to the below June 22 Circuit Court complaint, Norreasha Gill, 28, claims that she was listening to Lexington's WLTO-FM on the evening of May 25 when host DJ Slick announced that he would award "100 Grand" to the tenth caller. When Gill, the pregnant mother of three children, was that tenth caller, the radio host told her she could pick up her prize the following day at WLTO's studio. She subsequently learned that the contest was a "joke," according to her lawsuit, which names the radio station's parent company, Cumulus Media, as a defendant. Gill's lawsuit seeks the $100,000 prize and additional punitive damages. The 22-year-old DJ Slick, whose real name is Jason Hamman, is no longer working for WLTO, a departure apparently hastened by the May stunt. Hamman, pictured at left, declined to speak about the "100 Grand" incident when contacted by phone today. In a May 25 blog posting promoting that night's giveaway, Hamman wrote that he would be presenting "our loyal listeners with a chance to Win 100 GRAND!!!! It's sitting in a bag to my left ready for someone to take off with just like the Runaway bride!" The tenth caller, he added, would be "100 GRAND RICHER!!! No joke."

[NautiNurse]

touche

[politicket]

I'll bet the radio station would have filed charges against her if she crashed their server by sending 500 million e-mails, or depleted the ink in their fax machine by faxing them a black sheet of paper a couple of hundred times.

This woman lost nothing, and did no work worthy of remuneration. The only thing that she had was injured greed.

[NathanR]

Blackstone is so 19th Century.

She deserves every cent. It was not a joke, it was fraud. Many fraudsters think their frauds, are funny. They aren't.

[savedbygrace]

Thank you both.

[GOPJ]

What is the legal distinction between an "on-air radio joke" and outright fraud (i.e., if a radio station promoted a contest with a cash prize but then refused to pay the winner)?

This sounds like fraud to me. The station should grow up and pay up. Firing the guy was not enough.

[Alberta's Child]

You could make the same statement about a case involving a retailer that advertises a product for $19.99 but then won't sell it for less than $500.

[scott7278]

I'm not sure of the timeframe, but it was indeed Opie and Anthony.

[N3WBI3]

Gill's lawsuit seeks the $100,000 prize and additional punitive damages.

Whats more pathetic that she is suing for the one hunderd grand or that she wants punitive damages on top of it... how sad it is when lawyers run our culture.

Personally I thinks its funny. If I was her I would probably not, but I would still not sue..

[joesnuffy]

When the sharks line up to feed.. the big ones feed first...then the little ones..

[new cruelty]

And she may be laughing all the way to the bank.

[N3WBI3]

Almost lost it there.. very funny..

[diamond6]

If she doesn't want the candy bar..........I'll take it.

[Phantom Lord]

You could make the same statement about a case involving a retailer that advertises a product for $19.99 but then won't sell it for less than $500.

Find me such a case.

[greccogirl]

She should win. I'm tired of this kind of crap. They are going to have to start watching what they say.

[Sacajaweau]

It's funny you ask. It may be that if she "accepted" the candy bar...the lawsuit is off the table.

[glock rocks]

It's a true story. See post 20.

[N3WBI3]

I can see that one, that was a contest at work where they pulled some sorry crap. Now if they had given her the yoda nad say 1K/2K as a 'please be a good sport' I cuold say well its an aweful joke but not lawsuit worthy..

[Sacajaweau]

Think about it.....I have 100 Grand....sitting in a bag... right here....

$100,000 cash handoff?? I don't think that is really even possible except in a drug or arms deal.

[TwoSue]

Did they ever mention "dollars?"

[MortMan]

Not according to the story, but the tenth caller was to become "100 grand richer", which certainly implies dollars.