January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was
awarded $780,000.00 by a jury of her peers after
breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was
running amuck inside a furniture store. The owners of
the store were understandably surprised at the verdict,
considering the misbehaving tyke was Ms. Robertson's
son.
June 1998: A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won
$74,000.00 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran
his hand over with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently
didn't notice someone was at the wheel of the car whose
hubcap he was trying to steal.
October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol Pennsylvania
was exiting a house he finished robbing by way of the
garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up,
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, so 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.
This upset Mr. Dickson, so 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 and change.
October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas
was awarded $14,500.00 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-in yard, as was Mr. Williams. The award was less
than sought after because the jury felt the dog may have
been provoked by Mr. Williams who, at the time, was
shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay
Amber Carson of Lancaster Pennsylvania $113,500.00 after
she slipped on a spilled 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.
December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware
successfully sued the owner of a night club 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 lady's room to avoid paying the $3.50
cover charge. She was awarded $12,000.00 and dental
expenses.
