Outrageous or Reasonable? The Truth About Crazy Lawsuits (B2)
Read about famous lawsuits and complete the text with legal English vocabulary.
Every few years, a story goes viral about someone who sued for something ridiculous. But when lawyers look at the facts, the picture is often very different.
Take the most famous example. In February 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck spilled McDonald's coffee on her lap while sitting in a parked car. Newspapers presented it as the perfect example of a lawsuit. In fact, she suffered third-degree burns, spent eight days in hospital and needed several operations. She was the , and McDonald's was the . Her lawyers showed that the company served its coffee at around 82°C, much hotter than its competitors, and had already received about 700 complaints. The jury blamed the company's , although it also decided that Liebeck was 20% responsible. It awarded her $200,000 in compensatory and $2.7 million in punitive damages, about two days of the company's coffee sales. The judge later cut the punitive damages to $480,000, and before an was decided, both sides for a secret amount.
Then there is the famous story of the burglar who fell through a skylight. In 1982, a 19-year-old climbed onto the roof of a California high school to steal a floodlight. He stepped on a skylight that was hard to see, fell about eight metres and was left seriously injured. Even a can sometimes sue, because property owners may have a to warn people about hidden dangers. The school's insurance company agreed to pay him $260,000 plus $1,500 a month for life. However, a similar story, about a burglar who was trapped in a garage for eight days and lived on dog food, was completely invented in a hoax email.
Some cases really are as silly as they sound. In 2005, Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington DC, claimed his local dry cleaner had lost his trousers. Pointing to a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign, he demanded $67 million, later reduced to $54 million. In 2007, the went against him: he received nothing and had to pay the court costs. The family who owned the shop later sold two of their three shops.
Companies can also face a , where many customers sue together. In 2014, Red Bull agreed to pay $13 million to settle claims that its slogan "Red Bull gives you wings" was misleading, although it denied any . Customers could claim $10 in cash or $15 of free drinks. A similar case about Subway "footlongs" that were only 11 inches long ended badly for the lawyers: in 2017, an appeals court said the deal was worthless for customers and only helped the lawyers.
Take the most famous example. In February 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck spilled McDonald's coffee on her lap while sitting in a parked car. Newspapers presented it as the perfect example of a lawsuit. In fact, she suffered third-degree burns, spent eight days in hospital and needed several operations. She was the , and McDonald's was the . Her lawyers showed that the company served its coffee at around 82°C, much hotter than its competitors, and had already received about 700 complaints. The jury blamed the company's , although it also decided that Liebeck was 20% responsible. It awarded her $200,000 in compensatory and $2.7 million in punitive damages, about two days of the company's coffee sales. The judge later cut the punitive damages to $480,000, and before an was decided, both sides for a secret amount.
Then there is the famous story of the burglar who fell through a skylight. In 1982, a 19-year-old climbed onto the roof of a California high school to steal a floodlight. He stepped on a skylight that was hard to see, fell about eight metres and was left seriously injured. Even a can sometimes sue, because property owners may have a to warn people about hidden dangers. The school's insurance company agreed to pay him $260,000 plus $1,500 a month for life. However, a similar story, about a burglar who was trapped in a garage for eight days and lived on dog food, was completely invented in a hoax email.
Some cases really are as silly as they sound. In 2005, Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington DC, claimed his local dry cleaner had lost his trousers. Pointing to a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign, he demanded $67 million, later reduced to $54 million. In 2007, the went against him: he received nothing and had to pay the court costs. The family who owned the shop later sold two of their three shops.
Companies can also face a , where many customers sue together. In 2014, Red Bull agreed to pay $13 million to settle claims that its slogan "Red Bull gives you wings" was misleading, although it denied any . Customers could claim $10 in cash or $15 of free drinks. A similar case about Subway "footlongs" that were only 11 inches long ended badly for the lawyers: in 2017, an appeals court said the deal was worthless for customers and only helped the lawyers.