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"Frivolous"
Lawsuits News
Imaginary Cases & Urban Legends: The Stella Awards Debunked
The "Stella Awards" is a collection of urban legends and
fake legal cases designed to perpetuate the myth that there is a 'lawsuit
crisis' in America. Advocates of limited legal rights have been circulating
these make-believe cases for years, using fake examples to undermine
public confidence in our legal system.
Facts About Stella Liebeck's Case
The fictitious "awards" are named after an elderly woman
who was severely burned due to the negligence of a greedy corporation.
A number of lies about her case have spread via email, but in fact:
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Stella Liebeck wanted only to be reimbursed for the cost of
her medical treatment alone and to settle the case, but McDonald's
opposed her request and took the case to trial.
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Stella was severely injured. At 79 years old, she suffered third
degree burnsto her legs and genitals, was hospitalized for over
a week, and had to have multiple skin grafts.
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McDonald's lost—a jury of American citizens heard the evidence
and decided against the company.
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During discovery, McDonald's produced documents showing more
than 700 claims by other people burned by its coffee over a 10
year period and still refused to sell its coffee at a safe temperature.
- More
facts about the McDonald's Scalding Coffee Case
The "Stella Award" Is Meaningless
Searches for news stories or the actual legal cases have turned up
nothing. Even StellaAwards.com claims many of the Internet stories
are fabricated. Among the imaginary cases:
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A woman who supposedly sued a furniture store after tripping
over her own son. No such case or plaintiff exists.
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A man who, assuming the vehicle would drive itself, sued Winnebago
after setting the cruise control at 70 mph, left his seat and
went to the galley to make a cup of coffee, and then was surprised
when it crashed. Neither the incident, nor any lawsuit exists.
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A woman who sued a restaurant after she threw a drink on her
boyfriend and slipped on the floor. Again, there is no record
of any such lawsuit.
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A woman sued a nightclub after falling through a bathroom window
and knocking out her teeth while trying to sneak in to the club
without paying a cover charge. Neither the case nor the plaintiff
is real.
- Seven more phony cases in a 2002
version of the "Stella Award" email
How to Spot a Fake
While phony emails like the "Stella" chain letter are a
common problem on the Internet and even in mainstream newspaper articles,
they all share one characteristic—no citation to a source.
More Than Harmless Jokes
Urban myths like the "Stella Awards" aren't just cute or
harmless jabs at trial lawyers and our legal system. They clearly
are part of a massive disinformation campaign designed to undermine
Americans' confidence in our legal system and to benefit powerful
corporate interests at the expense of average people harmed by corporate
wrongdoing and indifference.
What You Can Do
In your letter, you can debunk the myth or ask the sender for more
details, especially if no case names or citations are mentioned. Most
often these details cannot be provided because they do not exist.
Updated February 2005
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