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LEGALLY CREEPY
-This Year's Scariest Lawsuits-
Contact: Mike Vallante
Phone: 626-824-8927
Cell: 626-437-5414
OCTOBER 31, 2002
TO: All News Media
FROM: Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is resurrecting some of
the spookiest, creepiest lawsuits that made news this year.
"These outrageous lawsuits are true court horror
classics that affect us every day of the year," said Michael Vallante,
executive director of Los Angeles CALA. "Even when frivolous lawsuits
are eventually dismissed, it still costs the court valuable time
and wastes taxpayer money."
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That's quite a costume! -- A woman
wearing only a thong and body paint was arrested at New York's
2001 Mermaid Parade for exposure. A year later, she filed
suit for unspecified damages against the city, and the police
officer and investigator who stopped her. Her lawyer claims
the suit was filed as a "precautionary note not to spoil this
year's parade." ("A Parade of Fins and Skin Tests How Little
Cover Is Legal," New York Times, June 20,
-
Lawsuits in your Future - A psychic
in Aspen, Colorado is suing a competitor for copying her business
name: Aspen Psychic. The psychic who filed the suit claimed
she knew she was going to do it "Because I was told through
my visions that evil was trying to enter a very sacred place."
This suit is still in court, but both psychics predict they
will win. ("Hard to say who'll win as psychics duel for name."
Miami Herald, October 20, 2002)
-
He lost his money, then his head -
A self-proclaimed gambling addict who got in way over his
head burning through his life savings and ultimately going
bankrupt sued an Indiana casino, contending the casino should
have stopped him from gambling. The suit seeks $175,000 in
losses, plus punitive damages. (Wall Street Journal, October
22, 2002)
-
Nothing is more frightening than the gym!
- A New York woman and lead plaintiff in a class action suit
wants $50 million from the makers of the food snack, Pirate's
Booty, claiming the company mislabeled its products as low-fat,
thus placing the burden on consumers to spend extra hours
at the gym. She has assured the public that her part of the
award would be donated to charity. (Newsday, April 17, 2002)
-
Truth is scarier than fiction -- A New York woman
won $14.1 million for injuries she incurred from being hit
by a subway train. The cause for the accident? She laid herself
on the tracks in an attempted suicide. ("Win Big! Lie in Front
of a Train," New York Times, June 25, 2002)
-
Not exactly scared straight -- A Peoria,
Arizona English teacher had a student who cheated on tests,
missed classes, made failing grades and even skipped a make-up
session that might have allowed her to improve her grade.
Despite repeated notes to the girl's parents, cautioning them
that their daughter was at risk of not graduating, the family
hired a lawyer. He sent a letter to the teacher warning she
had better take "whatever action is necessary to correct this
situation" or the family would file suit. The girl graduated
the next day. ("L is for lawsuit," Salon.com, July 12, 2002)
-
Mama won't let her babies grow up to be
cowboys - In what may be the first- of-its-kind lawsuit,
Peggy Hilden, on behalf of her son, Collin, and tow animal
rights groups are asking a San Francisco Superior Court judge
to keep Bay Area schoolchildren from going to the free Grand
National Rodeo day for students to be held at the Cow Palace.
The lawsuit says the California Education Code forbids schools
from teaching and encouraging inhumane treatment of animals,
which is what they believe rodeos do. The lawyer for the anti-rodeo
group says the violence children may see could upset them.
("Suit, Rodeo bad for kids," The Mercury News, October 23,
2002).
"You should scream when you read about lawsuits
like these, not from fear but from outrage. Frivolous lawsuits
like these clog our courts, delay justice and take money out of
our pockets. Its time we stop the abuse of our legal system,"
said Mike Vallante, CALA Executive Director.
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is a nonprofit,
grassroots public education organization with more than 7000 supporters
throughout the Los Angeles region.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you would like a CALA
speaker to address your organization or some information for your
organization's newsletter, let us know today.
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is a non-profit,
educational, grassroots organization comprised of small business
and professional people, consumers and others dedicated to the
reform of our civil justice system. If you would like to be added
or deleted from this list, or to request a CALA action kit, please
reply to maryann@maryannmaloney.com.
Feel free to forward this communication and visit our website
at www.losangelescala.org.
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