12 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits
Published on 3/23/2009
under Strange Stories
- by Gracie Murano
- 368,521 views
TAGS: frivolous lawsuits
Family sued Oliver Stone and Warner Brothers for crime inspired on their movie
In 1996, the family of Patsy Ann Byers
sued Oliver Stone, Warner Brothers, and others involved in the making and distribution of the movie "Natural Born Killers" for an unspecified amount. The frivolous lawsuit claimed that the movie caused Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darrus to go on a crime spree which resulted in Edmonson shooting Byers during a robbery, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. The case was ultimately dismissed in June 2002 when a Louisiana appeals court ruled that neither Oliver Stone nor Time Warner intended to inspire violence with the film and they could not be held responsible for the actions of the film’s audience.
Man sued Bud for not getting beautiful women
In 1991, Richard Overton
sued Anheuser-Busch, creators of Budweiser, for $10,000. He claimed to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss because drinking beer did not make his fantasies of beautiful women in tropical settings come to life, as he claimed it had advertised, driving him to buy and drink more and more Bud Light. The case was dismissed.
Customer sued dry cleaner for $65 million over lost pants
In another frivolous lawsuit, Roy Pearson Jr, a judge in Washington, tried to bully a family-owned dry cleaning shop by
suing the owners for $54 million in damages after they lost his pants.
The case demoralized the South Korean immigrant owners of the business and brought demands that the customer be disbarred and removed from office for pursuing a frivolous and abusive claim.
Pearson's lawsuit against Custom Cleaners of Northwest D.C. eventually ended with a U.S. District Judge finding for the defendants. Pearson later indicated that he would appeal.
Couple sued American Airlines over more legroom
Jerome and Judith O'Callaghan filed a $100,000
suit against American Airlines in 2004 because they didn't have enough legroom on a flight to Paris.
The couple claimed the airlines had advertised generous legroom, but said it wasn't the case. Their nine-hour flight left them with back and leg pain. Allegedly the limited space made Jerome's legs so unsteady that he tripped and broke his nose and teeth later at the entrance to the Basilica of St. Paul's in Rome.
Rapist sued employer for not preventing him from committing crime
In 2002, a Sandusky man serving a 10-year sentence for raping a patient at the former Providence Hospital
sued the hospital for negligence. Edward Brewer sued the hospital for $2 million, claiming they were negligent by not preventing him from raping one of its patients. The judge ruled that any damage Brewer suffered due to his crime was his responsibility for choosing to commit the crime, and that the hospital had no legal duty to protect him from that choice.
Batman vs Batman: Mayor of Batman city sued Warner Brothers
The mayor of an oil-producing city in southeastern Turkey, which has the same name as the Caped Crusader,
sued helmer Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros for royalties from mega-grosser "The Dark Knight." Huseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman accused "The Dark Knight" producers of using the city's name without permission.
"There is only one Batman in the world," Kalkan said. "The American producers used the name of our city without informing us." No one from the town of Batman has explained why it took so many years to take legal action, since Batman first appeared -as a comic book character- in 1939.
German Playboy, 77, sued a 19-year-old for refusing to sleep with him
Aging German playboy Rolf Eden
filed charges against a 19-year-old for refusing to sleep with him. The complaint? Ageism.
He says, despite a night on the town with Eden, which ended back at his place, she refused to have sex with him, saying the he was too old for her. So he filed charges with the prosecutors' office: "After all, there are laws against discrimination."
Eden is well known to Germans for having been the king of Berlin nightlife in the ‘50s and '60s. The elderly playboy --who claims to have bedded between 2,000 and 3,000 women in his long life-– once shocked Berlin by saying he would like to die while having sex. He wrote: "I would like to die as I have lived: on a woman."
He also said that there are some women who are too old for him. But in that case he would be more diplomatic and say, 'sorry, you're not my type’.
Man sued over lap dance injury
In 2008, a married investment broker in his 30s
sued a midtown strip club. Stephen Chang claimed in court papers that he was at the Hot Lap Dance Club near Madison Square Garden in Manhattan alone and was getting a paid lap dance when the accident occurred. According to the lawsuit, as the dancer swung around, the heel of her shoe hit him in the eye, causing him "to sustain serious injuries."
The lawsuit claimed the club "and/or its employee" were "negligent" for her "suddenly swinging around" and his lawyer says Chang sustained "serious injuries."
Viewer sued NBC over 'Fear Factor' rat-eating episode
After watching an episode of the reality TV show Fear Factor on NBC in 2005, Austin Aitken
sued the network for $2.5 million. He said the sight of contestants eating blended rats disgusted him so much that his health suffered.
He claimed the show raised his blood pressure rise, made him dizzy, and caused him to vomit. He also became so disoriented, he smashed into a door. The lawsuit was thrown out of court.
Man sued wife for donated kidney
After Long Island doctor Richard Batista was slapped with divorce papers from his cheating wife, he decided he'd had enough and sued her for the return of a gift he'd give her eight years prior: a kidney. After the successful transplant, Dawnell --Batista’s wife-- survived, but not their marriage, which lasted only another four years.
The heartbroken doctor requested the one-time love of his life to pay $1.5 million for the organ he donated.
He insisted his cash-for-kidney claim was a direct result of his wife's behavior.
Shop Owner sued a homeless for $1 Million
In 2007, a Manhattan antique shop owner's
lawsuit against hobos who camped in front of his store generated debate about what to do with New York's homeless, many of whom spend winter nights on the street.
Karl Kemp, owner of the posh Karl Kemp & Associates Antiques on Madison Avenue, sued three men and a woman for $1-million, alleging they scare away customers when they drink alcohol, urinate and warm themselves above a heating duct in front of his shop.
Kemp's suit, filed in state Supreme Court, also seeked an order to keep them 30m away.
Student sued school after being awakened by teacher
A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student who fell asleep in class alleged he suffered substantial hearing loss when his math teacher smacked her palm down on his desk to wake him up while she was teaching, so his parents
decided to sue Danbury High School, the Connecticut Board of Education and the city of Danbury on his behalf.
Attorney Alan Barry says 15-year-old Vinicios Robacher suffered pain and "very severe injuries to his left eardrum" when teacher Melissa Nadeau abruptly slammed the palm of her hand on his desk.
Vinicios has been teased by students at school ever since.
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