“LAW SUITS?”
By Dr. Hoyt W.
Allen, Jr.
The following
article came to me
recently and I
contended that I
should pass it on.
It has been slightly
edited and a
conclusion added.
The Stella Awards
It's time once again
to consider the
candidates for the
annual Stella
Awards. The Stella's
are named after
81-year-old Stella
Liebeck who spilled
coffee on herself
and successfully
sued McDonalds. That
case inspired the
Stella awards for
the most frivolous
successful lawsuits
in the United
States.
The following were
recent candidates:
1. Kathleen
Robertson of Austin,
Texas 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.
2. A 19-year-old
Carl Truman of Los
Angeles won $74,000
and medical expenses
when his neighbor
ran over his hand
with 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.
3. Terrence Dickson
of Bristol,
Pennsylvania 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 not
working. He couldn't
re-enter the house
because the door
connecting the house
and garage locked
when he pulled it
shut. The family was
on vacation, and Mr.
Dickson found
himself locked in
the garage for eight
days. He subsisted
on a case of Pepsi
he found, and 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.
4. Jerry Williams of
Little Rock,
Arkansas, was
awarded $14,500 and
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 was
shooting it
repeatedly with a
pellet gun.
(Continued)
5. A Philadelphia
restaurant was
ordered to pay Amber
Carson of
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania,
$113,500 after she
slipped on a soft
drink and
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.
6. Kara Walton of
Claymont, Delaware
successfully sued
the owner of a
nightclub in a
neighboring city
when she fell from
the bathroom window
to the floor and
knocked out her two
front teeth. This
occurred while
Ms.Walton was trying
to sneak through the
window in the ladies
room to
avoid paying the
$3.50 cover charge.
She was awarded
$12,000 and dental
expenses.
7. This year's
favorite could
easily be Mr. Merv
Grazinski of
Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma. Mr.
Grazinski purchased
a brand new 32-foot
Winnebago
motorhome. On his
first trip home,
having driven onto
the freeway, he
set the cruise
control at 70 mph
and calmly left the
driver's seat to
go into the back and
make himself a cup
of coffee. Not
surprisingly,
the RV left the
freeway, crashed and
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
$1,750,000.00 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.
Well, now the above
may tickle our
funny-bone, but life
is filled with
serious moments,
isn’t it? Getting
serious about our
relationship with
our Creator is
possibly the most
serious point of our
lives. The God of
creation provides us
with the air which
we breath which is
filling our lungs
right now. He also
provides us with the
water we drink, the
food we eat, the
earth upon which we
walk, the eyes with
which we are seeing
this article, and
the ears by which we
hear. Boy do we ever
owe God!
Plainly, don’t get
short changed. Let’s
be ready to meet our
Maker. The Bible
teaches that to
avoid hell and gain
heaven - one must:
1) Believe In Jesus
As Savior (Acts
16:31) 2) Repent Of
Sins (Acts 17:30) 3)
Confess Christ
Audibly (Acts 8:37)
4) Be Baptized In
Water (Acts 2:38)
5) Live A Christian
Life (Acts 14:22) 6)
Be Active In the
Church (2:47)
KYOWVA Evangelistic
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