For all the truly horrific and terrifying lawsuits out in the world, there is a handful too wacky to consider. Or so we thought.
From suing your date to changing your age, we have seven of the wackiest lawsuits since 2000. Brace yourself…
Fight Fire with Fire
This one is new: ever heard of the fireman that was scared of fire? Well, it proved true with Shayn Proler from the Houston Fire Department. Once his managers knew of this little fear, he was reassigned to an office position. But he didn’t like that, so he sued them as “his fear was a disability,” and he was being discriminated against because of it. The case went all the way to the supreme court, but it ruled that he had no evidence to prove his discrimination.
Changing Your Age is Harder Than It Appears
In 2018, 69-year old Dutchman, Emile Ratelband, wanted to legally change his age because he believed he was subject to ageism. Missing out on potential jobs and affecting his chances on Tinder, he felt that he was younger than he appeared. The judge rejected his claim (just like the hundreds of women did on Tinder too).
The Horror of Jelly Bean Sugar
For all those people that think that Jelly Beans have no sugar, that’s not entirely true. It actually has “evaporated cane juice” – one of the many names used for sugar. Well, Californian Jessica Gomez decided that it was considered fraud because, even though it’s a type of sugar, the word sugar isn’t used in the packaging. However, the tiny factor that the total grams of sugar per serving was displayed on the box saw her lose the case.
Where’s the Energy Man?
As far as class action lawsuits go, this might be stretching the wings a little. A bunch of customers were bitterly disappointed that Red Bull did not energize them, feeling that the company’s slogan “Red Bull gives you wings” was misleading. The class-action emerged with the plaintiffs saying that there was no proof that the energy drink could improve their focus. It was settled out of court as the company paid $640,000.
Sue Your Date
As far as bad dates go, getting sued for being on your phone is way out of hand. Well, it actually happened. During a viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, a 37-year-old Texan man sued his date because she was on her phone during the movie, breaking the cinema rules and ruining his movie experience. She sought an agreement with him: pay the $17 for the movie ticket and leave her alone. He duly obliged.
More Junior Mints Needed
“Who’s gonna turn down a Junior Mint?” says Kramer in Seinfeld. And with good reason, they’re excellent, chocolate and mint mixture perfectly together. Well, not if you don’t have enough. This is exactly what Biola Daniel and Abel Duran thought when they sued Tootsie Roll Industries Inc because they felt the candy giant tricked people by underfilling Junior Mints boxes. The judge disagreed, saying that a reasonable customer can expect some empty space.
Hostage Takers Tries to Get Revenge on Kidnappers
Talk about a hostage situation gone wrong. Jesse Dimmick, a fugitive facing a murder charge, kidnapped a Kansas couple in September 2009. But his tiring endeavours saw him fall asleep, and they escaped. So they sued him. And he sued them back, claiming that they had a “legally binding oral agreement” to hide from the police. Rightly so, this case was dismissed.