Stupid Lawsuits

These were all actual lawsuits.

And that means some attorney somewhere took each of these on as a case.



Unbelievable!



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In 1991, Richard Overton sued Anheuser-Busch for false and misleading advertising under Michigan State law. The complaint specifically referenced ads involving, among other things, fantasies of beautiful women in tropical settings that came to life for two men driving a Bud Light truck. In addition to two claims of false advertising, Mr. Overton included a third claim in his complaint in which he claimed to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss in excess of $10,0000 due to the misleading Bud Light ads.

In 1995, Robert Lee Brock sued himself for $5 million. He claimed that he had violated his own civil rights and religious beliefs by allowing himself to get drunk and commit crimes, which landed him in the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Virginia, serving a 23-year sentence for grand larceny and breaking and entering. What could he possibly have to gain by suing himself? Since being in prison prevented him from having an income, he expected the state to pay.

In 1999, 63-year-old Donald Drusky filed suit against "God the sovereign ruler of the Universe" for "taking no corrective action" against an ex-employer who fired him 30 years earlier. He demanded, "God must grant him guitar playing skills and resurrect either his pet pigeon or his mother."

In 2000, Cleanthi Peters sued Universal Studios for $15,000. She claimed to have suffered extreme fear, mental anguish, and emotional distress due to visiting Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights haunted house, which she said was too scary

In 2002, Edward Brewer sued Providence Hospital for $2 million. He claimed that the hospital was negligent because it had not prevented him from raping one of its patients.

In 2003, Andrew Burnett sued Sara McBurnett and the San Jose Mercury News, claiming they had caused him to suffer mental anguish and post traumatic stress disorder. Burnett filed the lawsuit while serving a three-year sentence for killing defendant McBurnett’s dog in a road rage incident, claiming that the incident had caused his suffering.

In 2005, Austin Aitken sued NBC for $2.5 million. He claimed that an episode of “Fear Factor” caused him “suffering, injury, and great pain.” He said that watching the contestants eat rats on television made him dizzy and light-headed, causing him to vomit and run into a doorway.

In 2006, Allen Heckard sued Michael Jordan and Nike founder Phil Knight for $832 million. He claimed to suffer defamation, permanent injury, and emotional pain and suffering because people often mistook him for the basketball star.

Two surfers went to court after one allegedly stole the other surfer's wave.

A California grandmother took Disney World to court after she and her grandchildren witnessed Mickey Mouse taking off his costume backstage, causing a "traumatic experience" for her grandchildren.

A construction worker in Tulsa intentionally cut his hand off with a circular saw. When he was taken to the emergency room, he told doctors not to reattach the hand, saying that it was possessed. The man is now suing the doctors for not reattaching his hand, claiming that the doctors should have known he was psychotic.

An of course, there is the infamous McDonald’s coffee case – the one that kicked it all off. We all know that coffee is hot, that’s not in question. What most people don’t know is that McDonald’s was serving their coffee at about 180-190 degrees, hot enough to cause third degree burns in mere seconds. After 700 claims for serious injuries caused by their coffee, they continued to serve it at that temperature. 79-year-old, Stella Liebeck suffered third degree burns, was in the hospital for eight days, had multiple surgeries and skin grafts. All she asked of McDonald’s was to pay her medical bills. They refused, prompting her and her family to take them to court. Contrary to popular belief, Stella did not walk away with millions. The judge reduced punitive damages to $480,000, three times the compensatory amount, for a total of $640,000. The decision was appealed by both McDonald's and Liebeck in December 1994, but the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount less than $600,000.