Let no good deed go unpunished

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/04/costly.cookies.ap/index.html

Girls sued for delivering cookies

<SNIP>
DURANGO, Colorado (AP) -- Two teenage girls who surprised their neighbors with homemade cookies late one night were ordered to pay nearly $900 in medical bills for a woman who says she was so startled that she had to go to the hospital.

Judge Doug Walker declined Thursday to award punitive damages, saying he did not believe the girls acted maliciously.

Taylor Ostergaard, 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti, 18, baked the chocolate chip and sugar cookies one night last July.

They made packages with a half-dozen cookies each and added large red or pink construction-paper hearts that carried the message, "Have a great night."

...

The teens said they did not answer when the woman called out because they wanted the treats to be a surprise.
</SNIP>

So just how fucked up is this? You do something nice for a neighbor and they zing you with a $900 bill? In court? Is this the textbook definition of a frivolous lawsuit?

I can full understand if someone did this and left a flaming bag of shit on the doorstep, but over fucking COOKIES?

Remind me not to do anything nice for anyone in Durango Colorado. I might just wind up in jail.

DBDB

[CindyDale]

1. Yes, that is silly, but people should know that

it's not a good idea to show up at anyone's house late at night unannounced.

That happened to me once in New York. My landlord and the other tenant in the building were both out of town when the landlord's niece and her friend knocked on my door. They had been out late at a dance nearby and wanted to get into the landlord's apartment to sleep. They were pounding furiously on the door because they thought I was asleep, and it sounded like whoever was out there must be a complete maniac on the verge of breaking down the door. I wasn't expecting anyone and was really scared because my bag had been stolen with my address in it not long before that.

I ran up to the landlord's apartment to escape and then heard the girls' voices calling my name. So I figured it was probably someone I actually knew and stepped out the door, but I was so confused by that point I ended up locking myself out. The niece ended up breaking a window for us to get back in.

It seems funny now, but it totally freaked me out at the time.

[FormerDittoHead]

2. The key point here is that Bush* has so many people living in fear...

...people think gays are out to rape their kids, duct tape for the terrorists, a gun to take the kids to school, etc., etc.

This is the society they've created, more so in some places than others.

As for a frivolous lawsuit, $900 is small claims. No lawyer did this (unless they work for free). It may be that the woman honestly can't afford the $900 (thank 'gosh' we don't have "communist" medical insurance!).

I just hope this woman doesn't watch TV, movies, read or listen to the radio!

[ynksnewyork2]

3. That's what happens when you live in

a litigious society like we do!