Girls fined for giving neighbour cookies
Discussion
Only in America!
Friday February 4, 07:18 PM
Girls fined for giving neighbour cookies
DURANGO, Colorado (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 (480 pounds) for the distress a neighbour said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbour Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbours on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: "Have a great night".
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
It reported that six neighbours wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.
But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.
She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.
The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out.
Friday February 4, 07:18 PM
Girls fined for giving neighbour cookies
DURANGO, Colorado (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 (480 pounds) for the distress a neighbour said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbour Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbours on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: "Have a great night".
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
It reported that six neighbours wrote letters entered as evidence in the case thanking the girls for the cookies.
But Young said she was frightened because the two had knocked on her door at about 10:30 p.m. and run off after leaving the cookies.
She went to a hospital emergency room the next day, fearing that she had suffered a heart attack, court records said.
The judge awarded Young her medical costs, but did not award punitive damages. He said he did not think the girls had acted maliciously but that 10:30 was fairly late at night for them to be out.
Hey, BB, if you're THAT easily led, I can thoroughly recommend that you DO NOT install Kazaa, Shareaza or similar. Then, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you select 'file type' as 'video' and NO WAY should you then type 'teen sluts' in the search box.
Finally, WHATEVER you do, you REALLY OUGHT NOT to click 'search'.
Finally, WHATEVER you do, you REALLY OUGHT NOT to click 'search'.
wedg1e said:
Hey, BB, if you're THAT easily led, I can thoroughly recommend that you DO NOT install Kazaa, Shareaza or similar. Then, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you select 'file type' as 'video' and NO WAY should you then type 'teen sluts' in the search box.
Finally, WHATEVER you do, you REALLY OUGHT NOT to click 'search'.
But that sure sounds better than getting under the covers with a copy of Milling Machine Monthly and a flashlight.
I just saw this two seconds ago. I think they should have gotten off with a warning, and maybe the woman needs to have some coping skills.
In a similar bout of stupidity, some years ago, a woman sued McDonalds because the coffee was dangerously hot, which she discovered as she was driving away holding the cup BETWEEN HER KNEES! (it spilled on her) And she won.
I don't have a cup holder in my car, so I've spilled coffee on myself in a similar fashion; the difference being that I'm too embarrassed of my stupidity to seek restitution. I wouldn't have thought choosing to hold a cup of hot lava in your crotch could be someone else's fault.
In a similar bout of stupidity, some years ago, a woman sued McDonalds because the coffee was dangerously hot, which she discovered as she was driving away holding the cup BETWEEN HER KNEES! (it spilled on her) And she won.
I don't have a cup holder in my car, so I've spilled coffee on myself in a similar fashion; the difference being that I'm too embarrassed of my stupidity to seek restitution. I wouldn't have thought choosing to hold a cup of hot lava in your crotch could be someone else's fault.
wedg1e said:
Hey, BB, if you're THAT easily led, I can thoroughly recommend that you DO NOT install Kazaa, Shareaza or similar. Then, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you select 'file type' as 'video' and NO WAY should you then type 'teen sluts' in the search box.
Finally, WHATEVER you do, you REALLY OUGHT NOT to click 'search'.
Tick to all of them
just finished the last one Search BB preparing for melt down
brainsaw said:
I just saw this two seconds ago. I think they should have gotten off with a warning, and maybe the woman needs to have some coping skills.
A warning?! .. for being neighbourly?!
No, a warning that they should have answered when she called out to them. In the article, it says that she asked "who's there" and was frightened because there was no answer (so she assumed that there was a prowler). Technically, you have to tresspass on someone's property to deliver anything, so it's only fair that you should answer when they try to find out who it is. There are a lot of kids who do malicious pranks, and it would have cleared things up and saved a lot of trouble if they'd just answered.
seafarer said:
In a similar bout of stupidity, some years ago, a woman sued McDonalds because the coffee was dangerously hot, which she discovered as she was driving away holding the cup BETWEEN HER KNEES! (it spilled on her) And she won.
The list of libel cases like that are endless. That's why since then McDonalds have warnings on there coffee cups, "caution, contents may be hot"
My favourite would be the guy who bought a new Winnebago, put it on "cruise control" while driving on the highway and then decided to get up and make himself a coffee, while still motoring along.
Needless to say the motor home ran of the road and crashed.
He sued and won, claiming that the phrase cruise control gave the impression of automatic pilot.
That is why the instuctions that come with new Winnebago's actually warn you of this.
gtr-gaz said:
In a similar bout of stupidity, some years ago, a woman sued McDonalds because the coffee was dangerously hot, which she discovered as she was driving away holding the cup BETWEEN HER KNEES! (it spilled on her) And she won.
The list of libel cases like that are endless. That's why since then McDonalds have warnings on there coffee cups, "caution, contents may be hot"
However, in this case the McDonalds coffee was dangerously hot. Close to boiling temperature IIRC and hot enough to cause severe burning.
yep, they deliberately made it much hotter than any other place that serves coffee, claiming it tasted better
heated to an extent that it was capable of causing 3rd degree burns within one or two seconds as opposed to 15-20 seconds for every other coffee place or coffee you would make at home
they'd had warnings about it being too hot, and previous incidents, they chose to ignore them
and still it's put up as an example of a 'frivolous lawsuit' by many people who no nothing more about the case
heated to an extent that it was capable of causing 3rd degree burns within one or two seconds as opposed to 15-20 seconds for every other coffee place or coffee you would make at home
they'd had warnings about it being too hot, and previous incidents, they chose to ignore them
and still it's put up as an example of a 'frivolous lawsuit' by many people who no nothing more about the case
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