The Stella Awards - Only in America - GoFuckYourself.com

421Fill · 03-10-2003, 11:33 PM

It's time once again to review the winners of the annual "Stella Awards." The "Stella" is named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself & successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately the most recent lawsuit implicating McDonalds, the teen's who allege that eating at McDonalds has made them fat, was filed after the 2002 award voting was closed. This suit will top the 2003 list w/out question. Here are this past year's (2002) winners:

* 5th Place (tie): Kathleen Robertson of Austin (TX) was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

*5th Place (tie): A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles (CA) won $74,000 & medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand w/a Honda Accord. Mr. 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 (tie): Terrence Dickson of Bristol (PA) was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house & garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, & Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, & a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.

4th Place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock (AR) was awarded $14,500 & medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard & was shooting it repeatedly w/a pellet gun.

3rd Place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster (PA) $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink & broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

2nd Place: Kara Walton of Claymont (DE) successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor & knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak thru the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 & dental expenses.

1st Place: This year's run away winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City (OK). Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph & calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed & overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.

BrutalMaster · 03-10-2003, 11:57 PM

I normally don't say reply to these kinds of posts. But, there are a few things about the Stella Liebeck lawsuit against McDonald's that most people don't know. And, for whatever reason tonight, I just feel like mentioning this.

Stella Liebeck did, in fact, sue McDonald's and win a judgement because she burned herself with a cup of McDonald's coffee. It was a cup of scalding coffee in a disposable cup, and she placed it between her legs at the drive through. When she drove away, the her thighs pushed together and the top of the cup came of. The coffee scalded her.

Here are some things most people don't know about this.

Stella had to have skin graphs on her thighs due to the severity of the burns.

Prior to her incident, there had been more than 700 complaints to various agencies about the extreme temperature of McDonald's coffee. Now, when you think of the number of people who go to the drive through and get coffee, 700 complaints might not seem like a huge number. But it's important to remember that generally it's believed that for every formal complaint, there are usually tens or hundreds of others who had the same complaint but never bothered to say anything.

So, it's reasonable to assume that thre were at least seven thousand other instances where McDonald's coffee burned people.

Now, here's the part that most people don't understand; and this came out at the trial. McDonald's kept the coffee in their coffee pots at an extremely high temperature. At trial, McDonald's executives said they did that because it was more cost effective to essentially keep the coffee boiling than to replace coffee that was too cold for some customers.

In fact, McDonald's coffee was kept at a temperature that was far greater than industry standards. And it was kept hotter than what is generally viewed to be safe by those same standards. That means it was unsafe for workers, customers and anyone who might come in contact with that scalding liquid.

Was Stella stupid to put the cup between her legs? Yes. But the real question is, was McDonald's negligent for keeping the coffee too hot? After 700 documented complaints, a jury decided yes, McDonald's was negligent.

Remember, this is a case in which a huge, multi-national corporation decided, based on economics, that it made more sense to risk the health of their customers rather than make coffee more often.

Also, they were handing this scalding liquid out to people driving in cars, often with children in them. Think about that for a minute, if there was a small fender bender right outide the golden arches, and that coffee hit a child in the face requiring skin graphs...would people feel the same way about the verdict?

This is one of those cases where the facts are pretty solid. McDonald's was wrong. Unfortunatley, a black, female senior citizen was scarred for life because of the decision of a huge corporation.

Personally, I think the verdict was about right.

Just my thoughts.

Brutal

421Fill · 03-11-2003, 12:05 AM

I agree... coffee should not be served from a drive thru in my opinion, but it was the demand half of the equation that created the supply of overly hot coffee. And yes it sucks terribly that a lady was hurt so badly, but c'mon, when are people gonna take responsibility for their choices? i.e. her choice to get coffee from a drive thru... She had many years to decide if it was a risk she'd be willing to take... I'm betting she got coffee every morning like this, too.

el_perochulo · 03-11-2003, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by turbo
I agree... coffee should not be served from a drive thru in my opinion, but it was the demand half of the equation that created the supply of overly hot coffee. And yes it sucks terribly that a lady was hurt so badly, but c'mon, when are people gonna take responsibility for their choices? i.e. her choice to get coffee from a drive thru... She had many years to decide if it was a risk she'd be willing to take... I'm betting she got coffee every morning like this, too.

Getting coffee in the drive through isnt the problem. its the container inwhich it was served. It was not suitable for the abuse a coffee cup takes while driving around. This is america and we like to drink coffee on the way to work. mc d's fucked up by not spending an extra .00001 on better 'hardware' to serve the coffee in.

steffie · 03-11-2003, 12:08 AM

The Cruise Control Story is not true

read

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/cruise.asp

BrutalMaster · 03-11-2003, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by turbo
I agree... coffee should not be served from a drive thru in my opinion, but it was the demand half of the equation that created the supply of overly hot coffee. And yes it sucks terribly that a lady was hurt so badly, but c'mon, when are people gonna take responsibility for their choices? i.e. her choice to get coffee from a drive thru... She had many years to decide if it was a risk she'd be willing to take... I'm betting she got coffee every morning like this, too.

I don't know if she did or not. She was an old lady. But, the fact is, corporate executives also made decisions which they had been warned where dangerous. I forgot to mention that in my last post, internal McDonald's memos stated that there was a problem with the temperature of the coffee and still the corporate executives didn't take any action...even after knowing about hundreds of complaints.

Frankly, I think those executives are the ones who didn't take responsibility for their actions.

Companies and corporations have a responsibility, too.

Brutal

Brad Mitchell · 03-11-2003, 12:13 AM

great post! and great addition by Brutal!

brad

Mr.Fiction · 03-11-2003, 12:17 AM

If you believe in free market, doesn't that include the right of consumers to freely sue anyone and everyone they want?

Isn't that one of the rules of libertarianism? If a company tries to put out a faulty product, as determined by a jury (not the government), then they will be sued out of existence.

These cases sound like the involve two private parties suing each other, not government restriction or regulation of trade.

Let the free market be free!

Paul Markham · 03-11-2003, 12:27 AM

Some of these seem to strange to be believed.

A jury gave some burglar half a million after he got locked in the garage. Did none of the jurors own a house? Did none of them live in an area where crime is high?

Did none of them have a brain cell?

421Fill · 03-11-2003, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Fiction
If you believe in free market, doesn't that include the right of consumers to freely sue anyone and everyone they want?

Isn't that one of the rules of libertarianism? If a company tries to put out a faulty product, as determined by a jury (not the government), then they will be sued out of existence.

These cases sound like the involve two private parties suing each other, not government restriction or regulation of trade.

Let the free market be free!

This wasn't about restriction of free trade... moreso, it was about the things that some of these people were doing when the incidenst occurred... Like the guy who sued the homeowner of the house he was burglarizing when he hurt his leg... and won..

I mean, shit, maybe if he hadn't been breaking the law, then he'd be ok??

Good counterpoints BrutalMaster and P i m p d o g.

Steffie: I didn't compose this, so I'll have to reprimand my source for the mistake of falling for an urban myth. LOL. Thanks.

03-10-2003, 11:33 PM	#1
421Fill Super Mario Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Swenson's Avatar Posts: 19,339	The Stella Awards - Only in America It's time once again to review the winners of the annual "Stella Awards." The "Stella" is named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself & successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately the most recent lawsuit implicating McDonalds, the teen's who allege that eating at McDonalds has made them fat, was filed after the 2002 award voting was closed. This suit will top the 2003 list w/out question. Here are this past year's (2002) winners: * 5th Place (tie): Kathleen Robertson of Austin (TX) was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. 5th Place (tie): A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles (CA) won $74,000 & medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand w/a Honda Accord. Mr. 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 (tie): Terrence Dickson of Bristol (PA) was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house & garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, & Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, & a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000. 4th Place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock (AR) was awarded $14,500 & medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard & was shooting it repeatedly w/a pellet gun. 3rd Place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster (PA) $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink & broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. 2nd Place: Kara Walton of Claymont (DE) successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor & knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak thru the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 & dental expenses. 1st Place: This year's run away winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City (OK). Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph & calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed & overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles. __________________ 99.912% of the world survived the covid pandemic. "if the allegations that the judge raped the sheriff's daughter are true..." -- 'Things I Never Thought I would Say' for $1,000, Alex

03-10-2003, 11:57 PM	#2
BrutalMaster Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: New England, US Posts: 256	I normally don't say reply to these kinds of posts. But, there are a few things about the Stella Liebeck lawsuit against McDonald's that most people don't know. And, for whatever reason tonight, I just feel like mentioning this. Stella Liebeck did, in fact, sue McDonald's and win a judgement because she burned herself with a cup of McDonald's coffee. It was a cup of scalding coffee in a disposable cup, and she placed it between her legs at the drive through. When she drove away, the her thighs pushed together and the top of the cup came of. The coffee scalded her. Here are some things most people don't know about this. Stella had to have skin graphs on her thighs due to the severity of the burns. Prior to her incident, there had been more than 700 complaints to various agencies about the extreme temperature of McDonald's coffee. Now, when you think of the number of people who go to the drive through and get coffee, 700 complaints might not seem like a huge number. But it's important to remember that generally it's believed that for every formal complaint, there are usually tens or hundreds of others who had the same complaint but never bothered to say anything. So, it's reasonable to assume that thre were at least seven thousand other instances where McDonald's coffee burned people. Now, here's the part that most people don't understand; and this came out at the trial. McDonald's kept the coffee in their coffee pots at an extremely high temperature. At trial, McDonald's executives said they did that because it was more cost effective to essentially keep the coffee boiling than to replace coffee that was too cold for some customers. In fact, McDonald's coffee was kept at a temperature that was far greater than industry standards. And it was kept hotter than what is generally viewed to be safe by those same standards. That means it was unsafe for workers, customers and anyone who might come in contact with that scalding liquid. Was Stella stupid to put the cup between her legs? Yes. But the real question is, was McDonald's negligent for keeping the coffee too hot? After 700 documented complaints, a jury decided yes, McDonald's was negligent. Remember, this is a case in which a huge, multi-national corporation decided, based on economics, that it made more sense to risk the health of their customers rather than make coffee more often. Also, they were handing this scalding liquid out to people driving in cars, often with children in them. Think about that for a minute, if there was a small fender bender right outide the golden arches, and that coffee hit a child in the face requiring skin graphs...would people feel the same way about the verdict? This is one of those cases where the facts are pretty solid. McDonald's was wrong. Unfortunatley, a black, female senior citizen was scarred for life because of the decision of a huge corporation. Personally, I think the verdict was about right. Just my thoughts. Brutal __________________ "Don't worry, I won't bite...oh, wait a minute, I forgot, yes I will." www.brutalmaster.com

03-11-2003, 12:05 AM	#3
421Fill Super Mario Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Swenson's Avatar Posts: 19,339	I agree... coffee should not be served from a drive thru in my opinion, but it was the demand half of the equation that created the supply of overly hot coffee. And yes it sucks terribly that a lady was hurt so badly, but c'mon, when are people gonna take responsibility for their choices? i.e. her choice to get coffee from a drive thru... She had many years to decide if it was a risk she'd be willing to take... I'm betting she got coffee every morning like this, too. __________________ 99.912% of the world survived the covid pandemic. "if the allegations that the judge raped the sheriff's daughter are true..." -- 'Things I Never Thought I would Say' for $1,000, Alex

03-11-2003, 12:08 AM	#5
steffie Confirmed User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains, far far away Posts: 2,422	The Cruise Control Story is not true read http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/cruise.asp __________________ Partying since '96 and not going anywhere Anna's Dorm

03-11-2003, 12:13 AM	#7
Brad Mitchell Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Southfield, MI Posts: 9,812	great post! and great addition by Brutal! brad __________________ President at MojoHost \| brad at mojohost dot com \| Skype MojoHostBrad 71 industry awards for hosting and professional excellence since 1999

03-11-2003, 12:17 AM	#8
Mr.Fiction Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Free Speech Land Posts: 9,484	If you believe in free market, doesn't that include the right of consumers to freely sue anyone and everyone they want? Isn't that one of the rules of libertarianism? If a company tries to put out a faulty product, as determined by a jury (not the government), then they will be sued out of existence. These cases sound like the involve two private parties suing each other, not government restriction or regulation of trade. Let the free market be free!

03-11-2003, 12:27 AM	#9
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	Some of these seem to strange to be believed. A jury gave some burglar half a million after he got locked in the garage. Did none of the jurors own a house? Did none of them live in an area where crime is high? Did none of them have a brain cell? __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70