WASHINGTON, D.C.-A lawsuit by a kidnapper against his victims for not helping him evade police tops the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform's (ILR) survey of the Top Ten Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2011, released today.
"While these lawsuits vary from the outrageous to the humorous, abusive litigation is hardly a laughing matter," said ILR President Lisa Rickard in a statement. "ILR's annual poll of ridiculous lawsuits helps to remind us that abusive lawsuits affect real people and real businesses, and can have harmful results to lives, jobs, and even our economic growth."
ILR announced the top ten vote-getters from among those chosen throughout the year by visitors to the FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org website. These were selected from those featured in the website's monthly polls for 2011. The Faces of Lawsuit Abuse campaign is ILR's public awareness effort created to highlight the impact of abusive lawsuits on small businesses, communities, and individuals.
The top ten Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2011 are:
• Convict sues couple he kidnapped for not helping him evade police
• Man illegally brings gun into bar, gets injured in a fight, then sues bar for not searching him for a weapon
• Young adults sue mother for sending cards without gifts and playing favorites
• Woman disagrees with store over 80¢ refund, sues for $5 million
• Mom files suit against exclusive preschool over child's college prospects
• Man suing for age discrimination says judge in his case is too old
• Obese man sues burger joint over tight squeeze in booths
• Woman sues over movie trailer; says not enough driving in 'Drive'
• Passenger's lawsuit says cruise ship went too fast and swayed from side to side• Mother sues Chuck E. Cheese, says games encourage gambling in children.
Another lawsuit which didn't make the list, but fits the profile, was reported by Chicagoist.com:
An appellate court ruled that a woman could sue the estate of a man who was killed by a train three years ago after she sustained injuries when a part of his body struck her.
18-year-old Hiroyuki Joho was crossing tracks at the Edgbrook Metra Station when he was struck by an Amtrak train passing through at 70 mph. Part of Joho's body flew toward the southbound platform, where it struck 58-year-old Gayane Zokhrabov.
Zokhrabov suffered a shoulder injury and a broken leg and wrist. A Cook County judge previously ruled against her in her attempts to sue Joho's estate for negligence, but a state appeals court ruled in favor of Zokhrabov, saying "it was reasonably foreseeable" the train would fling Joho's body toward the platform. Zokhrabov's attorney, Leslie Rosen, argued that the case was a straightforward negligence case, albeit with "very peculiar and gory and creepy" circumstances.
Joho's mother filed negligence cases against Metra and the Canadian Pacific Railway, claiming Joho had no indication that what he thought was a Metra train was an Amtrak train running express. A Cook County Judge ruled against Jeung-Hee Park in that case, saying the railroad had no duty to warn about what he called an "open and obvious danger" as a moving train. That case was upheld on appeal.