Stella Awards

Ao que parece, tudo começou com a simpática velhinha (Stella Liebeck) que se queimou com café quente no Mc Donalds: processou a cadeia de restaurantes e foi indemnizada numa enormidade de dólares, porque o empregado do restaurante não a tinha advertido de que o café estava quente.
Em sequência, surgiram na Internet várias outras histórias, supostamente descrevendo processos reais, cujas decisões terão sido igualmente disparatadas. A generalidade delas, ao que parece, são inteiramente inventadas. Apesar da imagem que passa no cinema, os jurados dos tribunais americanos não são assim tão disparatados.

Diferente, é a iniciativa processual: os clientes americanos têm mais capacidade de persuasão sobre os seus advogados e conseguem que estes proponham acções que podem muito bem inspirar as histórias falsas. Vejam-se estas, relatadas no site Snopes.com:

In March 1995, a San Diego man unsuccessfully attempted to sue the city and Jack Murphy Stadium for $5.4 million over something than can only be described as a wee problem: Robert Glaser claimed the stadium's unisex bathroom policy at a Billy Joel and Elton John concert caused him embarrassment and emotional distress thanks to the sight of a woman using a urinal in front of him. He subsequently tried "six or seven" other bathrooms in the stadium only to find women in all of them. He asserted he "had to hold it in for four hours" because he was too embarrassed to share the public bathrooms with women.

A San Carlos, California, man sued the Escondido Public Library for $1.5 million. His dog, a 50-pound Labrador mix, was attacked November 2000 by the library's 12-pound feline mascot, L.C., (also known as Library Cat). The case was heard in January 2004, with the jury finding for the defendant. In a further case which was resolved in July 2004, the plaintiff in the previous suit was ordered to pay the city $29,362.50, which amounted to 75% of its legal fees associated with that case.

In 1994, a student at the University of Idaho unsuccessfully sued that institution over his fall from a third-floor dorm window. He'd been mooning other students when the window gave way. It was contended the University failed to provide a safe environment for students or to properly warn them of the dangers inherent to upper-story windows.

In 1993, McDonald's was unsuccessfully sued over a car accident in New Jersey. While driving, a man who had placed a milkshake between his legs, leaned over to reach into his bag of food and squeezed the milkshake container in the process. When the lid popped off and spilled half the drink in his lap, this driver became distracted and ran into another man's car. That man in turn tried to sue McDonald's for causing the accident, saying the restaurant should have cautioned the man who had hit him against eating while driving.