Slashdot Mirror

That wasn't the problem. The problem was, Stella sued McDonald's for HER OWN STUPIDITY! She exploited the legal system for her own personal gain. She forced many companies to put liability waviers for things that no sane person would do, for example, this tag found on an iron: "Do not iron clothes while they are on body". And she created an exploitation movement, which is documented at the Stella Awards.

Actually, it was less than $640,000, and it's not *quite* the story you've been led to believe, but there are plenty of bogus lawsuits around.

Actually, it was less than $640,000, and it's not *quite* the story you've been led to believe, but there are plenty of bogus lawsuits around.

The system is broken, hardcore. Now if you release open source software you are aiding terrorists? Ever since the "Stella Awards" I've always wondered where America was going. Criminals can sue the people they are robbing if they get hurt. Then the RIAA starts prosicuting fans. When it comes to Microsoft ... you name it. It seems we are justblowing up the world! The funny thing is CHILD PORNGRAPHERS can - I'd link to the story, but news.com took it down, actually got off because his computer was hacked into, and he didn't get a search warrent, but not the RIAA!! If that bill passes they won't need a search warrent, just look up legal hacking on google...you'll get tons of links on it. Oops I'm off the subject. If we are all on the same page, and reading the same stuff, then we all know what the other guy can do. So why would open source be so bad, and as far as documents ... there are documents for everything

Do you think that frivolous lawsuits create an environment where people don't take license agreements seriously (this could apply to either a GPL style agreement or to a non-free commercial EULA).

Any ideas on how these types of lawsuits might be curtailed?

If you'd like to see some real examples of frivolous lawsuits, a debunkment of various frivolous-lawsuit urban myths that have been floating around the net, and the true facts of the McDonald's case, check out the This is True Stella Awards.

You might find this website interesting: the True Stella Awards, put together by Randy "This Is True" Cassingham. Every week, he writes up another ludicrous lawsuit.

The "Stella" awards rank up there with the Darwin awards. Stella Liebeck is
the 81-year-old lady who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonalds. This
case inspired an annual award - The "Stella" Award for
the most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S. The following are this year's
candidates:

1. January 2000: A jury of her peers awarded Kathleen Robertson of Austin
Texas $780,000 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
bastard 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 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: 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 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 he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. 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
neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's 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 nightclub 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
ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000
and dental expenses.

Oh well... The law might be useful for as long as it takes to search KaZaA and write a cheque. The kidz dont give a crap about anyone else. The 'Stellas' site is under construction.

Ali