Admitting guilt
In 2006, Thomas Bentey of New Jersey sued his former law school, St. Thomas University Law School of Miami, for having admitted him to law school (he was one of 40 students expelled for failing to make grades). His lawyer claimed, “They’re not supposed to accept students who don’t have a reasonable prospect of completing law school.” The case was eventually settled out of court on unknown terms.
Me v I
In 1995 Robert Lee Brock, a prison inmate in Virginia filed a US$5 million lawsuit against himself (he claimed that he violated his own civil rights by getting arrested) – then asked the state to pay because he has no income in jail. The judge was not impressed by his ingenuity, and dismissed the suit as frivolous.
Shaky claim
John Carter, a New Jersey man sued McDonald’s for injuries he sustained in an auto accident with one of their customers. He claimed that the customer who hit him did so after spilling the contents of his chocolate shake (which he purchased from McDonald’s) onto his lap while reaching over for his fries. He claimed McDonald’s should have a warning to the effect of “don’t eat and drive”. The lawsuit was unsuccessful.
Spilling the beans
Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque burned her lap and was hospitalised after spilling a cup of McDonald’s coffee. She sued the fast food giant in 1992 and two years later received US$160,000 in direct damages and US$2.7 million in punitive damages, which a court later reduced to US$480,000.
Looking for ladies
During the 1990s Budweiser ran a series of adverts in which two beautiful women appeared in front of two truck drivers drinking the brew. Michigan man Richard Overton promptly bought a case of the beer, drank it and waited – but no women appeared. Overton cited emotional distress and mental injury due to false advertising and said he wanted over US$10,000 in damages. The case was thrown out.
Batman sues Batman
In 2008, the mayor of Batman, a city in Turkey, announced that he would sue Warner Brothers, claiming the makers of the most recent Caped Crusader film, The Dark Knight, used his city’s name without permission. No media reports followed the mayor’s announcement, suggesting his rather dubious claim never made it past the drawing board.
Distressed doppelganger
In 2006, Michael Jordan lookalike Allen Heckard tried to sue Nike for US$832 million for making the basketball star so recognisable it caused Heckard permanent injury, emotional pain and suffering. He failed.
Wife breaks heart, man demands kidney
Richard Batista decided enough was enough when his cheating wife presented him with divorce papers. He promptly issued a lawsuit ultimatum: return the kidney he had given her eight years previously to save her life, or pay US$1.5 million. The outcome of the case could not be found.
Silence is golden
Music publishers for the late avant-garde composer John Cage sued Mike Batt for plagiarism in 2002. They claimed Batt’s song, A Minute’s Silence, ripped off Cage’s 4.33, which also contained absolutely no music or vocals. Even though copyrighting silence might seem to be impossible, Batt agreed to settle the case out of court, paying a six-figure amount.
Shattered ego?
German playboy Rolf Eden sued a 19-year-old woman for discriminatory ageism after she refused to jump in the sack with him. Eden, who reckons he has bedded around 3,000 women in his time, obviously didn’t take refusal too well and filed charges. The outcome of the case could not be found.
You don’t say...
In probably the only case of suing someone for truthful advertising, 57-year-old Cleanthi Peters sued America’s Universal Studios in 2000 for US$15,000, claiming she had suffered “extreme fear, mental anguish, and emotional distress” during a visit to the Studios’ ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ haunted house. She claimed the ride was just too downright scary.