2002 Stella Awards
Here are the winners and runners-ups of the Stella Awards for 2002, for people who have misused the US court system by filing insane lawsuits.
#7, who sued an airline for having been seated next to a fat man on a plane.
#6, James Brown’s children, who sued for compensation for allegedly having helped him write hit songs
#5, a prison inmate who sued for not letting him practice his religion “druidic vampirism.”
#4, an obese, cigarette smoking woman who sued her doctors for “not doing enough” to make her kick her bad habits
#3, a man who changed his name to “Jack Ass” in 1997 sued MTV for plagiarizing his name in the TV show and movie “Jackass.”
#2, sued a doctor for prescribing a drug that had not harmed her at all, just to earn a few bucks.
And, finally, the winners, sisters Janice Bird, Dayle Bird Edgmon and Kim Bird Moran, who sued their mother’s doctors and hospital for having witnessed the mother being taken to the emergency room, which allegedly caused them “emotional distress.”
The case was fought all the way to the California Supreme Court, which finally ruled against the women. Which is a good thing, since if they had prevailed doctors and hospitals would have had no choice but to keep you from being anywhere near your family members during medical procedures just in case something goes wrong. In their greed, the Bird sisters risked everyone’s right to have family members with them in emergencies.
A well-deserved award, won in the face of strong competition. Too bad they are not forced to pay damages corresponding to what they wanted to inflict on others.