Lawsuits are very common these days. Most of the lawsuits we hear about are serious issues, but some days, you get to hear about cases that are frivolous at best and weird at worst. Well, here are some unbelievable cases that you may or may not have heard about.
That Ad Which Turned Out to be Too Scary
In 2014, a New York woman dragged Showtime Networks, CBS Outdoor Americas, and the City of New York, and two transit authorities because they put up a poster that scared her so much that she stumbled and fell over. The woman was at the staircase in Grand Central Terminal when a poster of the show Dexter loomed large before her. The poster had the photo of Michael C. Hall, who played the role of a serial killer on the show, with his face wrapped up with cellophane. Instead of making her watch the show, it shocked her so much that it caused her an injury. She claimed that the defendants were responsible for causing her injury on her right foot and ankle.
On the other hand, the defendants argued that her reaction was something that they couldn’t anticipate and wasn’t responsible for the fall and consequent injury. The judge ultimately agreed with the defendants, and he ultimately dismissed the case based on the woman’s failure to present a proper case.
The Case of Patent Infringement
A magician called David Roller dragged the illusionist David Copperfield to court for patent infringement. Mr. Roller claimed that he had patented his illusionist powers and that Mr. Copperfield had gone ahead and used them without seeking his permission. It was a lot of silliness, and Mr. Roller had not patented his illusionary powers.
Mr. Copperfield, on the other hand, filed an answering suit, claiming that no patent of such kinds existed, and Mr. Roller filed an additional complaint. This time Mr. Copperfield made another preposterous allegation that some people were trying to murder him. However, the court dismissed the case that the plaintiff hadn’t supported his claims with any factual statement. He had a long history of filing such frivolous suits, and that he had a particular penchant against Mr. Copperfield. The court dismissed Mr. Roller’s notion and ensured that he wouldn’t file any such claims in the future.
The Case of the Lip Balm
A California woman filed a suit against Fresh Inc., the company that manufactured Sugar Lip Treatment lip balm. She claimed that the manufacturer deceived the users as the amount in the tube is far less than they claimed.
She also claimed that there was only 75 % of the lib balm in each tube. The remaining 25 percent was not usable as much as they would have like to. The company thus violated the consumer protection laws.
However, a district court dismissed the case, and an appeals court ruled that the product label had described exactly how much lip balm is in each tube. Moreover, it was up to the consumers to extract the remaining amount of balm with the help of a finger or a small tool.
The Curious Case Of Sandwich Size
In 2013, a teenager measured his Subway footlong sandwich, and it was at least an inch short of the stipulated length. The company settled a class-action lawsuit in court after three years. And yes, they promised, as initially claimed, the sandwich would be exactly 12 inches long and not any less. The only people benefitting from this lawsuit were the representing attorneys considering they received $520,000 in fees. The judge finally dismissed the entire case.
The Missing Wings
Red Bull’s claim and their slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” landed them in a big soup. A class-action lawsuit was leveled against the company for providing misleading ads and making false claims. Plaintiffs claimed that the supposed energy drink did not give the people wings or did not give them the required energy. The company claims that the drink would make people feel more energized. There has been no supporting evidence that the beverage made people feel better or improved their focus. Red Bull eventually had to go for an out-of-court settlement and cough up a substantial amount, $640,000!
Would you believe that people would go ahead, expend energy, and get involved in court cases as ludicrous as these?