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The Plaintiff: Mortimer Hetsberger, a 22 year old bank robber
The Defendant: Laura Gonzalez, a teller at the Fleet Bank in Atlantic City, New Jersey The Lawsuit: In July 1998, Hetsberger handed Gonzalez a note at her teller window. It said: "I want the money now." According to Gonzalez, he also told her "Now, or I'll shoot." She handed him $4,000. He was captured the same day. When he heard that Gonzalez had accused him of threatening her, he filed $1.5 million lawsuit for slander, explaining that he'd never even spoken to her. Verdict: No ruling yet. The Plaintiff: A 25 year old moruary driver The Defendant: A California Highway Patrol officer. The Lawsuit: The driver was stopped in Orange County and given a ticket for driving in a carpool lane with no passengers. He protested that he had four passengers-the four frozen corpses he was transporting. He went to court to overturn the ticket. Verdict: He had to pay the fine. The Plaintiff: David Earl Dempsey, a 27 year old inmate at the Pima County, Arizona jail. The Defendant: Pima County and state prison officals. The Lawsuit: In February 1998, Dempsey tied a sheet around his neck and jumped out the jailhouse window, trying to commit suicide. The sheet broke, and he plummeted to the concrete below. He sued for negligence. The Verdict: Case dismissed. While waiting for the trial, Dempsey tried suicide again. This time he succeeded! The Plaintiff: Carol Ann Bennett The Defendant: Warren Woodrow Bennett, her husband. The Lawsuit: When Mrs Bennett moved out of their condo, she left her breast implants behind. She sued to get them back. The Verdict: Implants returned. The Plantiff: Jeffery Stambovsky The Defendant: Helen V. Ackley The Lawsuit: Stambovsky purchased Ackley's house in Nyack, New York, for $650,000. When he later discovered that the house was "haunted," he sued Ackley for failing to disclose the presence of poltergeists. The Verdict: Guilty. Unfortunately for her, Ackley had bragged to friends for years that the place was spooked. She was even interviewed by Readers Digest for an article on haunted houses. The judge found that Ackley should have told Stambovsky everything about the house, noting that the existence of ghosts meant that she had actually broken the law by not leaving the house vancant. The Plantiff: Judith Richardson Haimes The Defendant: Temple University Hospital The Lawsuit: Haimes claimed to have had psychic abilities... until a CAT scan at the Philadelphia hospital "destroyed her powers." The hospital's negligence left her unable to ply her trade as a clairvoyant, she said. The Verdict: Amazingly, the jury awarded Haimes $986,465. The judge disagreed and threw out the verdict. |
