Yep, you'll find many of these on www.urbanlegends.com and/or
www.darwinawards.com.  The McDonald's coffee case was quickly overturned, by
the way....
bmc  :)
"Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel...."

> From: Chris Stann <ChrisS@INFORMS.COM>
> Reply-To: Chris Stann <ChrisS@INFORMS.COM>
> Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 09:04:52 -0500
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Only in America...??
>
> People have an unusual tendency to believe nearly everything they read on
> the internet without considering the source.  The story about the moron in
> Winnebago setting his cruise to fix coffee is a well known hoax.
>
> PEOPLE, GET A LIFE!
>
>
>> We COULD say "Thank whatever, it could only happen in America." But
>> is that the case? Most legal systems ane not so different from that
>> of the US...
>> *******************************************************************
>
>
>> The "Stella" awards rank up there with the Darwin awards.  In 1994, a New
>> Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S. in damages to 81-year-old Stella
>> Liebeck, who suffered third-degree burns to her legs, groin and buttocks
>> after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself.  This case inspired
> an
>> annual award - The "Stella" Award - for the most frivolous lawsuit in the
>> U.S.
>>
>> The ones listed below are clear candidates.  All of these cases are
>> verging on the outright ridiculous and yet with the right attorney you
> could
>> win anything!
>>
>> 1. January 2000: 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
>> boy was Ms. Robertson's son.
>>
>> 2. June 1998: 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. October 1998: 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
>> malfunctioning.  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.  Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days.
>> He subsisted on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food he found.
>> He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue
>> mental anguish.  The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.
>>
>> 4. October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded
> $14,500
>> and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door
>> neighbour's beagle.  The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced-in
>> 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.
>>
>> 5. May 2000: 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.  The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson
>> threw it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
>>
>> 6. December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued the
>> owner of a night club in a neighbouring 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.
>>
>> . . . . . And the winner is:
>>
>> Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City.  In November 2000 Mr. Grazinski
>> purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home,
>> having entered the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly
>> left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee.
>> Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned.  Mr
>> Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he
>> couldn't actually do this.  He was awarded $1,750,000 plus  a new Winnie.
>> (Winniebago actually changed their handbooks on the back
>> of  this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons
> buying
>> their vehicles.)...any of youse done this in yer Vanagons?
> ********************************************************************
>
> Is there no way to hold courts responsible for their insane actions?
>