Hey Paul

What is the world coming to when two girls go out of their way to bake cookies for their neighbors and get slapped with a $900 lawsuit? Apparently, sue-happy Wanita Young was so terrified that anybody was at her door at the ungodly hour of 10:30 pm that she suffered an anxiety attack, mistook it for a heart attack, and sued the girls for their good deed. And she won!!

"The victory wasn't sweet," Young said Thursday afternoon. "I'm not gloating about it. I just hope the girls learned a lesson."

And what lesson might that be? Don't extend a hand of charity or kindness to your fellow neighbor?

The girls wrote letters of apology to Young. [one of the girls' letters], written a few days after the episode, said in part: "I didn't realize this would cause trouble for you. ... I just wanted you to know that someone cared about you and your family."

The families had offered to pay Young's medical bills if she would agree to indemnify the families against future claims.

Young wouldn't sign the agreement. She said the families' apologies rang false and weren't delivered in person. The matter went to court.

There is only one reasonable conclusion to be made here. Wanita is a world-class BITCH! Thankfully, the judge only awarded her $900 for medical expenses and no punitive damages. He should have beat some sense into the lady and sent her packin'. Let's hope nobody extends a helping hand to Wanita ever again and she lives the rest of her pathetic days in miserable isolation.

Cheers.

2 comments

Evan Jones said...: This story is so out of whack that my first impression was that the facts probably got distorted, somehow, in the various layers of retelling. I will say this, however, if what you said turns out to be true, then you summed up my feelings 100%. No one does biting criticism better than you. Remind me to stay on your good side.; Saturday, February 05, 2005
Class of 1996 Reunion Committee said...: Yeah, I don't buy this. I'm not saying that "Hey Paul" is reporting it wrong, I'm just saying that there is something missing from the information provided. I am an attorney and I can't think of one possible legal justification for awarding any amount of money damages unless there was a clearly marked "No Solicitors/Visitors" or related sign on her property that the defendants disregarded.

If this whole story is true, however, the fact that the judge didn't award punitive damages is not much consolation. Punitive damages are reserved for the most serious and malicious acts. An example would be a chemical factory illegally dumping chemicals in a river and covering it up. So, $900 seems pretty steep to me if all the girls did was make a neighborly visit.

I would be interested to hear more about this, but it definitely pisses me off.; Tuesday, February 08, 2005