The Stellas

Chookie · Post by **Chookie** » Fri May 15, 2009 1:53 pm

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.

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.

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, EIGHT, 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.

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.

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?

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 incase Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri May 15, 2009 3:09 pm

Great reading your Chookiness.

Can we have a British prize?

The award goes to Brian Harvey.

"Singer Brian Harvey is in a critical condition in an east London hospital after he fell under the wheels of his own car, police have said.

The former East 17 pop star was crushed underneath his Mercedes convertible outside his home in Walthamstow.

Harvey, who is thought to have multiple fractures and abdominal injuries, is being treated at Whipps Cross Hospital.

We believe the man may have fallen from the driver's side of the Mercedes convertible while reversing from an access road into the street

Police spokesman

There were no passengers in the car which ended up in collision with another vehicle.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said police had been called to the scene by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at 0153 BST on Tuesday.

"The circumstances of the collision are being investigated but at this early stage we believe the man may have fallen from the driver's side of the Mercedes convertible while reversing from an access road into the street," the spokesman added.

"He was alone in the car at the time and no other driver was involved."

He did make a good recovery thankfully.

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Fri May 15, 2009 3:38 pm

Chookie;1189341 wrote: 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 incase Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home

I knew a young woman who was given a camera for her birthday. She held it loosely in her hands to take a photo. We all shouted at her to hold it up and look through the eye-piece but she calmly replied "I don't need to, it's self-focussing!" She thought she only had to press the button for it to capture whichever shot she wanted! :-5 :-5

These are funny but seriously, why are juries so thick?! :-5

Whatever happened to common sense???

PS. I liked number 4. But I'm surprised the dog (or his owner) didn't sue the guy back for attempted murder! :-5 :-5 :-5

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:28 pm

I'm sorry to be the one trample over the jelly and ice cream but all these are false. Check Snopes

snopes.com: Stella Awards

Sorry Guys

I actually read them this afternoon. I stumbled over them and read a comment that linked to Snopes

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:30 pm

Snowfire;1189426 wrote: I'm sorry to be the one trample over the jelly and ice cream but all these are false. Check Snopes

snopes.com: Stella Awards

Sorry Guys

I actually read them this afternoon. I stumbled over them and read a comment that linked to Snopes You've just pissed on His Chookiness's fireworks :yh_rotfl

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:32 pm

oscar;1189429 wrote: You've just pissed on His Chookiness's fireworks :yh_rotfl

Well it was a good laugh when I read them this afternoon and then someone pissed on my parade

Post by **spot** » Fri May 15, 2009 11:54 pm

Thank you Nig, you saved me a search there. And no, they don't sound remotely believable, not any of them. I'd call it right wing propaganda myself, not humor.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sat May 16, 2009 5:15 am

Chookie is still trying to find out how many books make a coffee table.

Attached files

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:11 am

Snowfire;1189426 wrote: I'm sorry to be the one trample over the jelly and ice cream but all these are false. Check Snopes

snopes.com: Stella Awards

Sorry Guys

I actually read them this afternoon. I stumbled over them and read a comment that linked to Snopes

These aren't true?

Just call me gullible. :-3 Shame though...I really liked the story about the winnebago. :yh_rotfl

btw, don't worry about the jelly and ice cream snowball...I can't stand the stuff personally. :p :wah:

Post by **spot** » Sat May 16, 2009 11:23 am

Rapunzel;1189662 wrote: btw, don't worry about the jelly and ice cream snowball...

Good lord you get more sophisticated every year!

Chookie · Post by **Chookie** » Sat May 16, 2009 1:51 pm

spot;1189469 wrote: I'd call it right wing propaganda myself,.......

I'd call that an insult, but I'm civilised...........

Anyway, Oscar proved the point with two words- Brian Harvey

Besides, I checked Snopes before I posted the list.

scholle-kid · Post by **scholle-kid** » Sat May 16, 2009 2:23 pm

Snowfire;1189426 wrote: I'm sorry to be the one trample over the jelly and ice cream but all these are false. Check Snopes

snopes.com: Stella Awards

Sorry Guys

I actually read them this afternoon. I stumbled over them and read a comment that linked to Snopes

I read the OP and had already went to snopes.com and had the link when I read your post. Being from New Mexico I'm very familar with these 'tales'.

This is the first time I have read the tale of the Winnebago happening in Oklahoma, I've heard it happened in just about every small town in New Mexico and half of Texas . Thanks from a New Mexican resident ,,for posting the link.