Best of the Worst
Frivolous Lawsuits-1997
The following are the 1997 winners of the “So Sue Me” Awards:
1.The Case of the Uncommon Cold
A man is suing the state of Michigan for $1 million because he says he caught a cold in the drafty Capitol rotunda in Lansing. A spokesman for the Governor said, “The irony is we’ve heard for years the Capitol is full of hot air. I don’t know where the cold air is coming from.”
For more of the Best of the Worst:

2002
2001
1999
1998
1996

2.The Case of the Martian Real Estate*
Three Yemeni men claiming to have ownership of Mars have sued NASA because of the Pathfinder landing. “We inherited the planet from our ancestors 3,000 years ago,” say the men. “Sojourner and Pathfinder... began exploring it without informing us or seeking our approval.”

*This case represents SAALA’s first international contender.

3.The Case of the Ungrateful Dead
A Los Angeles lawyer and self avowed “deadhead” sued a fellow lawyer in his office for intentional infliction of emotional distress for joking about the death of Grateful Dead band leader Jerry Garcia.
4.The Case of the Gummy Shopper
An El Paso woman filed suit against a supermarket after tripping over a piece of dried gum on the sidewalk outside the store. Before dismissing the case the trial judge asked “How does one trip over gum? How many times has everyone in this room stepped on gum without tripping?”
5.The Cases of the Nutty M&Ms
An Ohio man is suing for half a million dollars because he got hurt when he unexpectedly got a plain M&M amongst his peanut M&Ms. He claims he bit his lip and cut right through the skin and had to be treated at the hospital. He is suing both M&M and the Family Dollar Store in Cleveland where he bought the bag for failing to inspect the candy and then selling what he calls defective and mislabeled merchandise.

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
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