Woman sues when "100 Grand" prize turns out to be chocolate bar

[LordMorpheus]

Hell, I love 100 Grand candy bars. I woulda been happy.

Me: "Where's the cash?"
Them: "What cash? Here's your 100 Grand."
Me: "SCORE!!!!! SUCKERS!!!!" *munch munch munch*

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: WiseOne
I did't read the whole thread but... NO reasonable person would spend hours trying to be the Xth caller just to win a candy bar. it was OBVIOUSLY false advertising, they WANTED people to think it was money.

not only that, i can guarantee you if you run the numbers the radio station listening audience increased during the periods they ran this type of contest.

again, it would ONLY increase as long as the radio station decieved the listening audience into believing that it was 100,000 dollars and not a candy bar.

Uh, except the contest lasted for all of 2 seconds. She was the 10th caller.

Even if you want to nit pick and say grand = 1000, she won 100 thousand. That's it. Not dollars. It wasn't explicitly said. I'd take away her candy bar, write down "100 000" on a piece of paper and give it to her.

 

[Miramonti]

There's no such thing as a '100 Grand' candy bar. They are '100 thousand dollar bars'.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: Crazee

Originally posted by: grrl
She's hoping to get the jury that awarded the old lady a million dollars for driving with cup of McDonald's coffee between her legs.

People always bring up this case as an example of lawsuit abuse, but rarely read the facts about the case.

Here are some facts about what really happened:

:thumbsup: Thanks, Crazee. I also have to try and remind people that although late-night talk-show hosts like to harp on this case, it was totally valid. And anyone who disagree with that, but agrees that *this* woman has a valid claim is a total moron.

My Slashdot journal entry on the subject, from years ago

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Crazee

Originally posted by: grrl
She's hoping to get the jury that awarded the old lady a million dollars for driving with cup of McDonald's coffee between her legs.

People always bring up this case as an example of lawsuit abuse, but rarely read the facts about the case.

Here are some facts about what really happened:

At the trial, it was revealed:

* McDonalds required their coffee kept at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 5 degrees, significantly higher than other establishments. [Coffee is usually served at 135 to 140 degrees]
* An expert testified that 180 degree liquids will cause full thickness burns in 2 to 7 seconds.
* McDonalds knew before this accident that burn hazards exist with any foods served above 140 degrees.
* McDonalds knew that its coffee would burn drinkers at the temperature they served it.
* McDonalds research showed that customers consumed coffee immediately while driving.
* McDonalds knew of over 700 people burned by its coffee, including many third-degree burns similar to Ms. Liebeck's.
* McDonalds had received previous requests from consumers and safety organizations to lower their coffee temperature.

There were many things McDonalds could've done to prevent injuries:

* lowering the holding temperature of their coffee,
* putting warning labels on the cups not to drink immediately,
* redesigning the cups to minimize tipping or prevent drinking in cars

McDonalds knew of the risk and knew scores of injured customers, but did nothing to mitigate the chance of injury.

Evidence showed that McDonalds served their coffee so hot to save money. This let them get away with a cheaper grade of coffee and cut down on the number of free refills they had to give away. McDonalds executives testified that they thought it would be cheaper to pay claims and worker's compensation benefits to people burned by their coffee versus making any of these changes.

Even the trial court judge called McDonalds' conduct willful, wanton, reckless and callous.

On to the situation at hand:

* Stella Liebeck, age 79, was a passenger in the car.
* The car was at a full stop so she could add cream and sugar to her coffee. [She was not the driver and the car was not moving.]
* The cup tipped and spilled over her lap.
* Within a few seconds, Ms. Liebeck suffered third-degree burns over 6 percent of her body, including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, genitals and groin.
* Ms. Liebeck was hospitalized for 8 days, and required skin grafting and debridement treatments.
* Parts of Ms. Liebeck's body were permanently scarred.
* Ms. Liebeck tried to settle with McDonald's for $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. McDonalds offered her $800. She sought mediation, but McDonald's refused.
* The jury initially awarded Ms. Liebeck the equivalent of two days worth of coffee sales for McDonalds as punitive damages.
* The trial judge reduced the verdict to something under $600,000.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
http://www.vanfirm.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit.htm

If I ever have to sue someone, I want her lawyers...they know how to bring it! :thumbsup:

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: jEct2
It is one sad day in america if she actually gets full 100 grand out of this dumbass event.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: WiseOne
I did't read the whole thread but... NO reasonable person would spend hours trying to be the Xth caller just to win a candy bar. it was OBVIOUSLY false advertising, they WANTED people to think it was money.

It was caller #10 and the DJ made an entry about the contest in his blog - something akin to:

"OMGWTF? Tomorrow I'm giving away a 100 Grand! TOTALLY AWESOME-O! It's in a bag right beside me and the 10th caller will be the proud owner of this 100 Grand! LOL! Yep, you'll be a 100 Grand richer if you win this prize! KTHXBAI!"

Don't try to make this out like it was some long, drawn out contest annouced weeks in advance that required the listener to camp-out by the phone for days to be the 18,457th nationwide caller. :roll:

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Safeway
That DJ was an idiot, she deserves her $100,000.

She got her price exactly as described. She should have no case.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Uh, except the contest lasted for all of 2 seconds. She was the 10th caller.

Even if you want to nit pick and say grand = 1000, she won 100 thousand. That's it. Not dollars. It wasn't explicitly said. I'd take away her candy bar, write down "100 000" on a piece of paper and give it to her.

Uh, I suggest you not trying armchair law anymore.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Safeway
That DJ was an idiot, she deserves her $100,000.

She got her price exactly as described. She should have no case.

In current vernacular, she would expected to have received $100,000 as advertised. If the station had advertised it strictly as "100 Grand Candy Bar" or something intimating a candy bar and not a monetary amount then I would agree.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Safeway
That DJ was an idiot, she deserves her $100,000.

She got her price exactly as described. She should have no case.

like someone said this will be promisory estoppel

take busines law sometime

she has a good case.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: z0mb13

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Safeway
That DJ was an idiot, she deserves her $100,000.

She got her price exactly as described. She should have no case.

like someone said this will be promisory estoppel

take busines law sometime

she has a good case.

She assumed incorrectly, and she was made a fool. So she wants to get back at them?

What a load.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: silverpig

Uh, except the contest lasted for all of 2 seconds. She was the 10th caller.

Even if you want to nit pick and say grand = 1000, she won 100 thousand. That's it. Not dollars. It wasn't explicitly said. I'd take away her candy bar, write down "100 000" on a piece of paper and give it to her.

Uh, I suggest you not trying armchair law anymore.

I was refuting the claim that the radio station's ratings went up during said contest. I called BS as it only takes about 2 seconds to get 10 callers. Maybe a few people read the guy's blog he put up that day, but those listeners hardly qualify as a ratings boost.

She won 100 grand, she got it. NOWHERE did it say anything about dollars, currency, legal tender, anything.

The guys blog said 100 grand. That's it.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Orsorum

Originally posted by: WiseOne
I did't read the whole thread but... NO reasonable person would spend hours trying to be the Xth caller just to win a candy bar. it was OBVIOUSLY false advertising, they WANTED people to think it was money.

Agreed.

There is definitely a lawsuit here...those going on the criminal angle obviously don't know law.

She would sue civilly. You can sue anyone civilly. She indeed has a case as the station had intent to decieve. She may not get the full $100k, but there are indeed damages she should be paid for. This may also be a breech of FCC rules as well, those I do not know about fully.

What I find funny is people are responding because they are perceiving this lady as a poor ghetto person I feel, anyone of us I am sure would be on the phone to an attorney if we wasted our time driving to a radio station for a candy bar.

WHAT THE F&CK KIND OF DAMAGE DID SHE RECEIVE BY HAVING A PRANK PLAYED ON HER? :|

If they were nice, they could pay her the gas money it cost her to get to the station, and all of $50, assuming it took her 2 hours to get the candy bar and she makes $25 an hour. That's it. That's ALL. NOTHING ELSE. This is so. f&cking. ridiculous.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: silverpig

Uh, except the contest lasted for all of 2 seconds. She was the 10th caller.

Even if you want to nit pick and say grand = 1000, she won 100 thousand. That's it. Not dollars. It wasn't explicitly said. I'd take away her candy bar, write down "100 000" on a piece of paper and give it to her.

Uh, I suggest you not trying armchair law anymore.

And that's the problem with "real" law, doesn't pass the common sense test anymore.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: silverpig

Uh, except the contest lasted for all of 2 seconds. She was the 10th caller.

Even if you want to nit pick and say grand = 1000, she won 100 thousand. That's it. Not dollars. It wasn't explicitly said. I'd take away her candy bar, write down "100 000" on a piece of paper and give it to her.

Uh, I suggest you not trying armchair law anymore.

And that's the problem with "real" law, doesn't pass the common sense test anymore.

Didn't you pass the NY and NJ bar exams recently???

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Orsorum

Originally posted by: WiseOne
I did't read the whole thread but... NO reasonable person would spend hours trying to be the Xth caller just to win a candy bar. it was OBVIOUSLY false advertising, they WANTED people to think it was money.

Agreed.

There is definitely a lawsuit here...those going on the criminal angle obviously don't know law.

She would sue civilly. You can sue anyone civilly. She indeed has a case as the station had intent to decieve. She may not get the full $100k, but there are indeed damages she should be paid for. This may also be a breech of FCC rules as well, those I do not know about fully.

What I find funny is people are responding because they are perceiving this lady as a poor ghetto person I feel, anyone of us I am sure would be on the phone to an attorney if we wasted our time driving to a radio station for a candy bar.

WHAT THE F&CK KIND OF DAMAGE DID SHE RECEIVE BY HAVING A PRANK PLAYED ON HER? :|

If they were nice, they could pay her the gas money it cost her to get to the station, and all of $50, assuming it took her 2 hours to get the candy bar and she makes $25 an hour. That's it. That's ALL. NOTHING ELSE. This is so. f&cking. ridiculous.

No it's not. She was intentionally misled. She deserves to get paid, and if the radio station has any sense they will make this go away, now!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Triumph

WHAT THE F&CK KIND OF DAMAGE DID SHE RECEIVE BY HAVING A PRANK PLAYED ON HER? :|

If they were nice, they could pay her the gas money it cost her to get to the station, and all of $50, assuming it took her 2 hours to get the candy bar and she makes $25 an hour. That's it. That's ALL. NOTHING ELSE. This is so. f&cking. ridiculous.

so pranks are all justified and the only recourse is one's hourly rate and a token of 'gratitude'. I make more than $25/hr...that's besides the point though as the revenue I generate is more than my hourly rate....now $100,000 is a nice stack of cash so I'd be willing to make a trip out of my way to go and look into that.

Now the flipside to this and where it can get nasty is radio ads and the like return about a handful of customers for the 100's, 1000's, 10,000's that hear them...they are very costly. Now change this to stores saying they are handing out 100 bucks to every customer that buys something and a mob shows up buying things they want/need/or just looking to pick up some cash.

On the way out each is given a ticket that says "a buck" and they are given 100 of them.

The store has no return policy.

You think that's a legal method of business as well?

Å

 

[Hacp]

I read through all 13 pages, and I can honestly say that some people don't understand whats going on here. The radio is regulated by the FCC, and the FCC wants to protect the United States citizens who listen to the radio. That is why they have all these regulations, one of which was mentioned in earlier posts. It basically says that radio stations can not post contests are false, or mislead the costumer.

Think of it this way. If someone walked up to you and said that you were the 100th person to walk on the sidewalk today and that you won 500 dollars; all you had to do was give them your contact information, would you do it? I don't think any sane person in this forum would(unless it were a hot girl). But, if you were the 100th caller at a radio station, and they asked you for your contact information to send you 500 bucks, would you do it? Yes, I think many people in this forum would, because the radio is supposed to be a trusted medium that is regulated by the FCC. If the radio station did not send you 500 dollars, but instead gave your contact information to telemarketers, then they would be in violation of the FCC rules.

Many people made the suggestion that this was a prank, and people in the United States can't take pranks anymore. Some even made suggestions that they should be sued because they promised other forum members on the internet money that they do not intend to give. But the internet is not regulated by the FCC, and is not bound by many of the strict rules that the radio is bound by. Basically, you can joke all you want on the internet, as long as it does not involve stealing, or other modes of breaking the law. People, however, take what is not the TV and radio stations seriously and expect to get accurate information from them. Hence, all the disclaimers on the commercials.

The bottom line is that the woman should receive some sort of compensation. I don't agree that she should receive the full 100,000 dollars though. The radio station should pay for the lawyers fees, and give her the DJ's sallary for a year.

 

[kasparov]

I too want to say that I read through all the posts here. Its this type of tread that brings ATOT and its hundreds of differing opinions to light.

It's interesting how the outcome on this case actually played out. The DJ wanted to make a cheap joke at someone else's expense. He annouced a contest for a 100 grand, and then had some unsuspecting listener called in expecting a 100,000 dollars. He thought that he would have a laugh; make fun of this unknowning individual and then move on with his life. Perhaphs he would make fun of someone else later on.

Well the joke was on him -- and it is a hell of a lot more funny this way. The DJ is out of a job; the radio station that aired this stupid bit is going to be out of a lot of money; and the woman is going to get her "100 grand" prize.

Funny how this world works right. Remember the Godfather quote, "You think you are playing them, but then they play you". ( I don't think I remember the quote exactly right.)

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Hacp
I read through all 13 pages, and I can honestly say that some people don't understand whats going on here. The radio is regulated by the FCC, and the FCC wants to protect the United States citizens who listen to the radio. That is why they have all these regulations, one of which was mentioned in earlier posts. It basically says that radio stations can not post contests are false, or mislead the costumer.

Think of it this way. If someone walked up to you and said that you were the 100th person to walk on the sidewalk today and that you won 500 dollars; all you had to do was give them your contact information, would you do it? I don't think any sane person in this forum would(unless it were a hot girl). But, if you were the 100th caller at a radio station, and they asked you for your contact information to send you 500 bucks, would you do it? Yes, I think many people in this forum would, because the radio is supposed to be a trusted medium that is regulated by the FCC. If the radio station did not send you 500 dollars, but instead gave your contact information to telemarketers, then they would be in violation of the FCC rules.

Many people made the suggestion that this was a prank, and people in the United States can't take pranks anymore. Some even made suggestions that they should be sued because they promised other forum members on the internet money that they do not intend to give. But the internet is not regulated by the FCC, and is not bound by many of the strict rules that the radio is bound by. Basically, you can joke all you want on the internet, as long as it does not involve stealing, or other modes of breaking the law. People, however, take what is not the TV and radio stations seriously and expect to get accurate information from them. Hence, all the disclaimers on the commercials.

The bottom line is that the woman should receive some sort of compensation. I don't agree that she should receive the full 100,000 dollars though. The radio station should pay for the lawyers fees, and give her the DJ's sallary for a year.

If anything, the radio should pay a fine to the FCC for breaking one of its rules.

 

[faZZter]

So she is suing for "breach of contract ?" What contract was that anyway, can we see it?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: faZZter
So she is suing for "breach of contract ?" What contract was that anyway, can we see it?

already covered earlier several times, Read The Friendly Thread.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Hacp
If someone walked up to you and said that you were the 100th person to walk on the sidewalk today and that you won 500 dollars; all you had to do was give them your contact information, would you do it? I don't think any sane person in this forum would(unless it were a hot girl).

That is the most idiotic post I have seen...most hot chicks aren't going to waste their time over a contest handing out $500. Although maybe in alabama or one of the Dakotas.

 

[HermDogg]

Damn, that DJ is an idiot. The whole thing wouldn't even be an issue, but he said "100 grand RICHER." If he would have said like a 100 Grand richer, no one would have called him on it (his grammar is terrible), and there would be no case.