The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asks for your vote on the most ridiculous lawsuit of 2009. The choices they present:
- Woman crashes on curve, sues county claiming 10mph speed limit was inadequate warning.
- Customer sues restaurant chain after toilet paper rolls from “unreasonably dangerous toilet paper dispenser” fall onto his hand.
- Illegal immigrants sue rancher who stopped them on his property at gunpoint and turned them over to the Border Patrol.
- Tourist sues New York club after she slipped while dancing on top of the bar.
- Woman microwaves hair removal wax, spills it on herself, and sues manufacturer for “placing such dangerous products into the stream of commerce”
- Inmate sues to avoid being named world’s most litigious person.
- Double-murderer sues to claim his victims’ classic Chevy pickup.
- Tourist sues hotel, claiming swimming pool got daughter pregnant.
- Dolphins splash, woman sues.
- Wife kills husband, sues for his pension’s survivor benefits.
- Neighbor sues woman for smoking in her own home.
- Holocaust denier sues Auschwitz survivor survivor, alleging memoir contains “fantastical tales.”
As amusing as some of these are, they’re really not funny when you consider that lawsuits like these cost small businesses, small municipalities, and ordinary people a lot of money to defend.
This is a separate issue from medical malpractice torts, where the major problem is not frivolous suits but rather outrageously large and unwarranted awards. But the two types of lawsuits are similar in that both increase costs for ordinary American consumers.
- January’s winner: Woman crashes on curve, sues county claiming 10mph speed limit was inadequate warning (read story)(1.32%)
- February’s winner: Customer sues restaurant chain after toilet paper rolls from “unreasonably dangerous toilet paper dispenser” fall onto his hand (read story)(3.68%)
- March’s winner: Illegal immigrants sue rancher who stopped them on his property at gunpoint and turned them over to the Border Patrol (read story)(36.25%)
- April’s winner: Tourist sues New York club after she slipped while dancing on top of the bar (read story)(2.29%)
- May’s winner: Woman microwaves hair removal wax, spills it on herself, and sues manufacturer for “placing such dangerous products into the stream of commerce” (story)(3.06%)
- June’s winner: Inmate sues to avoid being named world’s most litigious person (read story)(4.78%)
- July’s winner: Double-murderer sues to claim his victims’ classic Chevy pickup (read story)(6.2%)
- August’s winner: Tourist sues hotel, claiming swimming pool got daughter pregnant (read story)(22.84%)
- September’s winner: Dolphins splash, woman sues (read story)(1.52%)
- October’s winner: Wife kills husband, sues for his pension’s survivor benefits (read story)(3.15%)
- November’s winner: Neighbor sues woman for smoking in her own home (read story)(5.31%)
- December’s winner: Holocaust denier sues Auschwitz survivor, alleging memoir contains “fantastical tales” (read story)
