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,
 gro!n and butocks 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 these cases are verging on the outright ridiculous and yet (in the
 downright stupid USA) 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 amok inside a furniture store. The owners of the store
 were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving
 little pr!ck was Ms. Robertson's son.
 2. June 1998: A 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and
 medical expenses when his neighbour 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 neighbour's hubcaps.
 3. October 1998: A 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, because 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 he found, and a large bag of dry dog food.
 Mr. Dickson 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 butocks by his next
 door neighbour's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's owner's
 fenced-in yard, as was Mr. Williams. The award was less than sought
 because the jury felt the dog may have been provoked by Mr. Williams who,
 at the time, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gunn.
 5. May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of
 Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on 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.
 7. And just so you know that cooler heads do occasionally prevail:
  Kenmore Inc., the makers of Dorothy Johnson's microwave, were found not
 liable for the death of Mrs. Johnson's poodle after she gave it a bath and
 attempted to dry it by putting the poor creature in her microwave for,
 "just a few minutes, on low," The case was quickly dismissed.

Index