lawgrad91 wrote:I think we need a thread for weirdness, legal and otherwise.
Isn't there something out there already, called the STELLA awards (legal), or was it the DARWIN Awards (stupid people chlorinating the gene pool)?
lol but I am totally in favor of this. Didn't we once have a thread on weird/outdated US state laws? In NC it is forbidden for you to use your elephant to plow the cotton fields.
Bingo games cannot last more than 5 hours, and no alcohol is to be served! lol
The winner of the 2007 True Stella Award: Roy L. Pearson Jr. The 57-year-old Administrative Law Judge from Washington DC claims that a dry cleaner lost a pair of his pants, so he sued the mom-and-pop business for $65,462,500. That's right: more than $65 million for one pair of pants.
Representing himself, Judge Pearson cried in court over the loss of his pants, whining that there certainly isn't a more compelling case in the District archives. But the Superior Court judge wasn't moved: he called the case "vexatious litigation", scolded Judge Pearson for his "bad faith", and awarded damages to the dry cleaners.
But Pearson didn't take no for an answer: he's appealing the decision. And he has plenty of time on his hands, since he was dismissed from his job. Last we heard, Pearson's appeal is still pending.
And for a 2017 Darwin Award...
(17 April 2017, South Carolina) It is tough to live without electricity. Although the Blue Ridge Electric Company says there are options for people who cannot pay their bill, those options were not extended to a family living in the Friendship community near Seneca. After two weeks without hot water or refrigeration, a man attempted to restore power to his home. Illegally.
What happens when a powerless thief grabs a metal ladder and jumper cables?
His bid for grid power veered from pathetic to ludicrous when he leaned an aluminum ladder against the pole, climbed up and applied the jumper clips to an energized conductor. A witness heard a sound like a shotgun as 7,200 volts arced from the primary wires across jumper cables designed for 12 volts, through the man's body, down the ladder, and into the ground.
The thief was jolted from the top of the pole and thrown to the ground. He was taken to hospital with contusions and electrical burns. Still living, he cannot win a Darwin Award yet is eligible for an Honorable Mention for his questionable and nearly fatal choices.
SIDEBAR: Readers say that electric power is usually disconnected at the meter, and only disconnected at the pole if there is a problem with the homeowner such as angry threats or previous power theft.