Chapter 6

Hello everyone! Slight change in topic. For now, maybe? Below is a sampling of strange lawsuits. I’m certain that several of you will share additional pieces of information on the subject, and I will post them when received.

Strange Lawsuits:

The Plaintiff: Deborah Martorano The Defendant: Bloomingdales Department Stores The Lawsuit: Martorano claimed that she was wrongfully sprayed with perfume by a store employee. (How many times have we seen or encountered some over-eager clerk who will come along and blast a person with a fragrance?) On April 30, 1984, she was shopping for a blouse while on her lunch break, when a roving perfume demonstrator approached her and blasted her. Martorano’s lawyer claimed that his client, a lifelong asthma sufferer, spent ten days in a New York hospital as a result of ‘respiratory distress’ from the unwanted spritz.

The Result/Verdict: Martorano accepted a $75,000 settlement from the store.

The Plaintiff: The estate of unidentified 34 year old co-pilot The Defendant: Gates Leer Jet Corporation The Lawsuit: The estate claimed that the jets windshield was not thick enough. In 1987, an 11.5 pound loon crashed through the windshield of a ‘state of the art’ jet during takeoff, killing the loon and the co-pilot.The estate claimed that the windshield should have been ‘bird-proofed’ It was, according to Gates Leersaid, but only for birds weighing up to four pounds.

The Result/Verdict: A Michigane Circuit Court awarded the estate $1.5 million in compensation.

The Plaintiff: McDonalds Corporation The Defendant: McDharma’s Natural Fast Foods The Lawsuit: McDonalds didn’t have a clue that McDharma’s even existed, until the Santa Crus, California, eatery sought its own national trademark. McDonalds had nothing against the top selling ‘Brahma Burger’, a burger made from beans, nuts, grains, and soy, but objected to the use of the trademarked ‘Mc’ in their name. “It’s such a joke,” stated McDharma’s co-owner, Bernie Shapiro. “They’re the only ones taking it seriously.

The Result/Verdict: McDharma’s was forced to remove the ‘Mc’ from their name. But instead of removing the letters from their sign, the company painted a red circle with a slash over them. McDonalds sued again, and ‘Mc’ was removed entirely from the sign. However, McDharma’s did receive several inquiries about franchises.

Quick revisit on Coca-Cola:

There is a well-known urban legend that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide. To test this theory, Harvard Researchers placed sperm sampls in test tubes and then added different types of product from the Coca-Cola Corporation. The results? Diet Coke was the most effective, followed by Coca-Cola Classic, then other versions of the drink. Researchers suggest that the acidic pH levels (and other possible ingredients) of the drink were the determining factors. In any event, a Coca-Cola executive was quoted as saying; “We do not promote Coca-Cola for medicinal purposes. It is a soft drink.”