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story category Man Sues Comcast For 'Always On' Claim
Because of a 2005 connection outage...
(old news - 01:26PM Thursday Dec 06 2007)
tags: legal · business · cable · Oddities · Comcast
Comcast and Verizon Wireless have justly been criticized in the past for advertising capped broadband service as unlimited. Comcast stopped doing so a few years back, and Verizon Wireless recently stopped doing so after being investigated by New York's Attorney General. Promoting capped service as unlimited is clearly false advertising.

Click for full size
But what about the frequent claim that broadband ISPs offer "always on" service? The "always on" tag is a throwback used to differentiate broadband service from dial-up, and shows up frequently in Comcast literature.

Nobody in their right mind could interpret that as meaning that your connection would never go down, right? Wrong.

One Pennsylvania man has taken the phrase literally, and sued Comcast for breach of contract and violation of state protection laws -- because his connection went down for two weeks back in 2005. CNET breaks down the subsequent legal bullfight:
Comcast managed to get the case transferred to federal court and asked a judge to enforce the arbitration clause buried in Comcast's standard subscriber agreement. Schwartz won, at least preliminarily, when a district judge ruled that there was no valid arbitration agreement. But Comcast appealed, and Schwartz had less luck before the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appeals court has sent the case back to a trial court where it will continue.

Related:
  1. Comcast Circulates Unredacted User Check Online
  2. Comcast Fights - For Its Right - To Get Bigger
  3. Comcast Sued Again Over Forced Equipment Leases
  4. Comcast Sued (Again) For Cable Box Rentals
  5. Comcast Fighting FCC Throttling Ruling
  6. Comcast Installer Arrested For Creative Marketing
  7. Comcast 'Honors' FCC Authority On Neutrality
  8. Comcast Still Fighting FCC Throttling Sanction
Forums » Man Sues Comcast For 'Always On' Claim
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

Stupid Lawsuit

Didn't this guy read the part of his contract that said that service is not guaranteed? I think this is also mentioned in all of Comcast's ads.
--
Only SHATNER is Kirk.

telcolackey
The Truth? You can't handle the truth

join:2007-04-06
Death Valley, CA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.

BodyBumper

join:2004-06-21
Beverly Hills, CA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by telcolackey See Profile :

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.
Karl doesn't care for Comcast or its subsidiaries.

Shame on him!

battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

He doesn't like any ISP. Stories are always about the uber-super fast speeds in a lab or how some one at ISP x screwed something up.

FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

So this ISN'T Broadband news???

And here I am thinking Comcast services the nation with intertubes.....
nasadude

join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by FiL See Profile :

So this ISN'T Broadband news???.....
why yes, it is broadband news - talk about shooting the messenger!
devnuller

join:2006-06-10
Hollis, NH

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Perhaps... but not sure how "fair and balanced" the news posting is on this site.

Mike
Premium,Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA
clubs:

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

In that case submit a news story of your own if you do not like what our editors pick.

R4M0N
Brazilian Soccer Ownz Joo

join:2000-10-04
Glen Allen, VA
·Comcast

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by Mike See Profile :

In that case submit a news story of your own if you do not like what our editors pick.
If it only were that easy. I've submitted many articles about FIOS deployment and never had any of them published.

telcolackey
The Truth? You can't handle the truth

join:2007-04-06
Death Valley, CA

said by Mike See Profile :

In that case submit a news story of your own if you do not like what our editors pick.
I've tried that too. It was comparing all the negativity toward Comcast, while companies like Google go unscrutinized... This was also not deemed newsworthy.

I know Google is the ad source for BBR, so perhaps that wouldn't fly very well.
--
"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear." - Dinah Craik
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
Please let me know if you find a "fair and balanced" news source, ANYWHERE..

MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by Ahrenl See Profile :

Please let me know if you find a "fair and balanced" news source, ANYWHERE..
Not from Fox.
--
Team Discovery-Join the fight

leXicon5
Pelosi, SHUT YOUR Fing Pie Hole
Premium
join:2000-12-27
Saint Louis, MO

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by MysticGogeta See Profile :

said by Ahrenl See Profile :

Please let me know if you find a "fair and balanced" news source, ANYWHERE..
Not from Fox.
Or CNN, or CBS, or NBC, or ABC, or (insert news org here)
I find it hilarious that while one rube calls Fox out on not delivering the whole story that the same person will say the other networks do provide the whole story...which is ummmmm....a lie.
journalistic integrity is DEAD in this country.
--
It's B.C., Before Christ. It's A.D. Anno Domini, The year of (Our) Lord. Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
ackman

join:2000-10-04
Acworth, GA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

I understand your point, and you are correct, but Fox is just the most egregious example of corporate bias and propaganda in the news media, the poster child as it were. They should be required to take the word "News" out of their name, it's clearly false advertising. Or at least change the name to Fox News and Opinion Channel.
supertech315

join:2006-03-01
Perris, CA
LOL Dude that's funny

exocet_cm
In memory of dadkins
Premium
join:2003-03-23
New Orleans, LA
clubs:
·Cox HSI
·Suddenlink
·Cingular Wireless
·AT&T Southeast
·Charter Pipeline

said by telcolackey See Profile :

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.
Just more anti-Comcast Broadband related news from BBR news.com relayed via BBR.

Corrected your comment for ya telcolackey See Profile.
--
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons..." - T.S Eliot
Check Out the Tech Bench »www.johndball.com/index.php/tech-bench/
Ma blog: »www.johndball.com

Jerm

join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

yeah, this isn't wikipedia where we pretend to have NPOV [citation needed]

telcolackey
The Truth? You can't handle the truth

join:2007-04-06
Death Valley, CA

said by exocet_cm See Profile :

said by telcolackey See Profile :

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.
Just more anti-Comcast Broadband related news from BBR news.com relayed via BBR.

Corrected your comment for ya telcolackey See Profile.
You would make a good BBR moderator. Need to ensure the anti-corp message stays strong! I think there is something in the BBR TOS which says this and anyone disagreeing with this position will be banned. Or was that AT&T
--
"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear." - Dinah Craik

exocet_cm
In memory of dadkins
Premium
join:2003-03-23
New Orleans, LA
clubs:
·Cox HSI
·Suddenlink
·Cingular Wireless
·AT&T Southeast
·Charter Pipeline

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by telcolackey See Profile :

said by exocet_cm See Profile :

said by telcolackey See Profile :

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.
Just more anti-Comcast Broadband related news from BBR news.com relayed via BBR.

Corrected your comment for ya telcolackey See Profile.
You would make a good BBR moderator. Need to ensure the anti-corp message stays strong! I think there is something in the BBR TOS which says this and anyone disagreeing with this position will be banned. Or was that AT&T
HA! Thanks telcolackey, hey vote for me for next round of BBR mods!!!
--
"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons..." - T.S Eliot
Check Out the Tech Bench »www.johndball.com/index.php/tech-bench/
Ma blog: »www.johndball.com

Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
USA

How is this anti-Comcast news? Sure, the lawsuit is against Comcast, but the opinion of the plaintiff is obviously negative:

Nobody in their right mind could interpret that as meaning that your connection would never go down, right? Wrong.
If Karl were posting this supporting the guy, he would have said something like "Everyone just assumes that 'always on' means that your connection will never go down, but apparently Comcast doesn't agree."

Mike
Premium,Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA
clubs:
News is news.

Including even if you don't like it.

This is a pretty major claim since "always-on" is a term thrown out with just about everything.

Sly
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Johnson City, TN
clubs:
·Packet8
·Callcentric
·Comcast Formerly ..

said by telcolackey See Profile :

Just more anti-Comcast news from BBR.
...and the problem is?

Lumberjack
Premium
join:2003-01-18
Newport News, VA

Most BBR news shows more negative news than positive news (at least against the "evil corporate" machine). But tell me what valid news agency posts more positive news than negative?

I think the article is funny... will cost Comcast loads of lawyer fees and maybe some fine-print adjustment.
--
»www.fairtax.org

rawgerz
In Debt we trust
Premium
join:2004-10-03
Grove City, PA
·Verizon Online DSL
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Didn't you think for a second that maybe he was suing because he felt he found a technicality for making money?

How many lawsuits these days are for justice or principle instead of financial gain?

The guy DID lose his internet for two weeks, I would be pissed too. Nothing takes that long to fix.
--

You can't make all the people happy all of the time. But it should be common sense to shoot for the majority.

Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
This is why companies are forcing customers into arbitration agreements.

I hope Comcast prevails on this. It's a frivolous lawsuit.
frost203

join:2005-09-17

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by Jim Gurd See Profile :

This is why companies are forcing customers into arbitration agreements.
exactly, because they now that they can not provide the service they advertise and do not want to go to court and lose.

ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA
One good thing about California - we don't go for that crap. If we want to, and have the money to, initiate a class action against a company for violating law, we can do it, regardless of any terms of "mandatory arbitration".
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Riiiiiiiiiight...
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Fiberguy,

The attorney I live with who happens to be licensed in California, Wisconsin, and D.C. says it's possible. I think I'll listen to an attorney over you. Okay?
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Wow... the 20 attorneys I work with say yours is wrong.. so I'll take their word over yours.

Doesn't matter, anyway, in the end what any attorney says.. it's what the judge says.. so, to be honest, (and we all know how far "my friend who is an attorney says" goes around here) it don't matter. Okay?

ReVeLaTeD
Premium
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

Black letter law.

California recognizes the consumer's right to class action - Ting vs. AT&T, if you want a small reference.

As a result a number of companies changed their terms where they once prohibited class actions as they pleased - but now they are adding terms excluding California residents. It's also why a lot of companies refuse to do business with you if you're a California resident - they know you've got the power to shut them down if they screw up. Vis a vis - Purpose Discover Card.

Sean

join:2004-01-23
Ottawa
·Bell Sympatico

said by pnh102 See Profile :

Didn't this guy read the part of his contract that said that service is not guaranteed? I think this is also mentioned in all of Comcast's ads.
Let me ask you: did YOU read YOUR contract?

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast

Re: Stupid Lawsuit

said by Sean See Profile :

Let me ask you: did YOU read YOUR contract?
Yes.
--
Only SHATNER is Kirk.
Aleck79

join:2003-07-23
College Station, TX

do you read your contract? At the end of it you will see a statement that the contract does not take away certain rights, and it depends on the laws in that state.

I believe in the state of Texas (not 100% on this), a company cannot take away your right to sue.

from some of the other comments i assume Cali is the same way. Any way is this? Who does the arbitration company get their money from? And who would the cable company go to if they see a favorable number decisions going their way?

Arbitration is a joke,
but when they are paid for by like this, their is always going to be a conflict of interest.

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI

said by pnh102 See Profile :

Didn't this guy read the part of his contract that said that service is not guaranteed? I think this is also mentioned in all of Comcast's ads.
"always on".. "no guarantee". Contradiction wouldn't you think? Maybe what we are seeing is a trend where big corporations who make unrealistic claims to entice people to buy their services are being challenged. Would you buy service from someone who up front tells you, up 75% of the time or one who says the network is up 100% of the time? Would you buy a car that says it gets 50mpg or one that says it gets 15? Lets just all blame marketing.

DotMac
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA


3 edits

It is always on

Just doesn't always work.

If you're going to sue, do it over the "Crazy fast" claims which aren't true thanks to their oppressive network management tactics.

This case will come down to would a 'reasonable' person assume that always on means an 100% uptime SLA. I would say certainly not.
--
Help keep cable rates low; support "Big Cable" in their fight against the extortionists at the NFL Network!

TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

Only a moron would see "always on" as "never down"

This case should have been thrown out of court. No one can reasonably expect to believe that a claim of "Always on" ever meant that it would never fail. The only cause of action this guy should have had would be for compensation for the outage itself. And I am sure that Comcast would have given him a free month for the outage.

See 22 replies to this post

imusuallyon

@comcast.net

from:
Cabal See Profile

honestly

honestly the news here is no more then telco astroturfing. right up their with the national enquirer. good job Karl. is this site funded by the telcos ?????

DotMac
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

4 edits

Re: honestly

I guess you missed all the FiOS installers break this and that articles Karl used to run and still would should the cable fanbois submit them.

Meanwhile the site has more than its share of cable trolls to balance out anything Karl may do.

TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast

said by imusuallyon :

honestly the news here is no more then telco astroturfing. right up their with the national enquirer. good job Karl. is this site funded by the telcos ?????
I disagree with that characterization. The editor dumps on all corporations - not just cable.

pog
Premium
join:2004-06-03
Kihei, HI
This story is legit... Karl's editorializing, while extremely minimal, is even supportive of your viewpoint... so what's your problem??
--
My Site

gaforces
United We Stand, Divided We Fall

join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA

said by imusuallyon :

honestly the news here is no more then telco astroturfing. right up their with the national enquirer. good job Karl. is this site funded by the telcos ?????
I notice that he is inconsistent in his editorial, one day will be pro consumer, then turn around the same day and tout the corporations line.
Im still not forgetting how the Corps made this site get rid of my favorite Thumbs UP or Thumbs DOWN characterizing the ratings.
--
‘Do ye, quieting in your bosoms your strong hearts,
Who of many good things have had your fill even to surfeit,
With what is moderate nourish your mighty desire; for neither will
We yield, nor shall you have all else as you wish.’
Solon
nasadude

join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast

said by imusuallyon :

honestly the news here is no more then telco astroturfing. right up their with the national enquirer. good job Karl. is this site funded by the telcos ?????
hmmmm. the name of the site used to be "dslreports"; I wonder who provides dsl? what companies would likely be featured in news about dsl?

wait a minute, I know - telcos!

see, wasn't that easy?

and here's a twofer: the site is now named "broadbandreports"; guess who provides broadband - that's right, cable companies and telcos and BPL (not really, but we pretend) and satellite (another pretend). That must be why we see stories about these providers on the site.

easy things made easier for those that need it.

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
Premium
join:2004-01-06
Sweden
·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online

BS..

This is so stupid.... Think about it, it's ALWAYS ON when the service is UP! DUH!!!! It's not ALWAYS ON if the service goes down, and since Comcast doesn't go out of their way to turn off the service when nothing is wrong, this lawsuit is frivolous.

-Tzale

CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

Re: BS..

said by Tzale See Profile :

This is so stupid.... Think about it, it's ALWAYS ON when the service is UP! DUH!!!! It's not ALWAYS ON if the service goes down, and since Comcast doesn't go out of their way to turn off the service when nothing is wrong, this lawsuit is frivolous.

-Tzale
Got that right... It better be thrown out or some one will have some 'splain'n to do.
amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:

funny

I find this almost comical Guess that's why it's filed under "oddities" under the headline

In a way, I almost hope he wins. If/when this gets to a jury though, I'm pretty sure most people will laugh it off and it'll get thrown out. Most regular folks understand that unless you have a business class connection, you have no guarantees that the 'net will always be perfect, let alone working. Granted, two weeks with no service stinks, but I actually agree w/HTC/TCH that he probably could've got a month or two of free service out of 'em if he worked with them nicely.

You hear it all the time... "I run my business from this - (insert: consumer grade pc, residential connection, or other absurd claim) and it better work!" - well here's some advice: 1st thing's first - BACKUP your data! Get a nice computer that isn't your run of the mill eMachine or whatever. Get another method to connect to the 'net, whether that's dialup, a cellular card, a DSL line, or, if you can really afford it, a "business class" connection from your cable/telco provider. Heck, get a laptop and go to a friend's house, go to a coffee shop, somewhere you can work for awhile in relative peace. Even if this guy's gripe isn't work related, I just roll my eyes every time I hear about people saying things like that... "well, why shouldn't my cheapo whatever be able to handle it?"

Just for fun - it would be nice to have an unlimited 'always on' connection that was truly unlimited, truly guaranteed to work at all times, and was cheap

See 11 replies to this post

DHRacer
Fire Survivor

join:2000-10-10
Lake Arrowhead, CA
·Charter Pipeline
·Verizon west (ex G..

Next up, other utilities

I'm sure Edison and the Gas Companies weren't sued out of existence in their early years for making claims that it was "always on", despite the slow emergence of those utilities into homes and business that were previously oil-lamps and fireplaces.

Next people will sue for winter outages that seem to frequent the northeast. Or do they already do that?
--
"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them." (R&D Supervisor, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing /3M Corp.)

jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS

It Works Both Ways

If Comcast can be persnickety in their legal jargon with regards to network "management", why can't the customers hold Comcast's marketing department to the same standards? Corporations have more rights than individuals. If only I could incorporate myself...

AtomicZero

join:2004-11-24
West Palm Beach, FL

Re: It Works Both Ways

said by jmn1207 See Profile :

If Comcast can be persnickety in their legal jargon with regards to network "management", why can't the customers hold Comcast's marketing department to the same standards? Corporations have more rights than individuals. If only I could incorporate myself...
Because of the word: Reasonable. And what this lawsuit is about is UNreasonable. No technology is infallible.
frost203

join:2005-09-17

Re: It Works Both Ways

in fallible or not two weeks without service would make anyone crazy.

jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
·Verizon FIOS

Conglomerates are selective in how they interpret things, and great big bags of money seem to encourage policy makers and judges to take their side almost exclusively. What is reasonable about faking packets? I hope this gets thrown out, as I would hate to see a new recovery fee on my bill to cover any court costs that might be incurred.

This charge is intended to offset certain costs incurred by our customers' unreasonable lawsuits.

I'd kill for the same kind of flexibility when paying my bills. Imagine being able to keep a couple extra dollars for the weekly football pool because sound was mysteriously lost in the middle of a DVR playback.

It would only seem like an unreasonable lawsuit if the US was not completely overflowing with seemingly ridiculous amounts of crazy, nutty whiners looking to make a buck for the stupidest of things. I don't even roll my eyes anymore when I read these stories. This is the "Professional driver on a closed course" generation.

jubangy
Premium
join:2005-03-26
Erie, PA
·DSL EXTREME

said by AtomicZero See Profile :

said by jmn1207 See Profile :

If Comcast can be persnickety in their legal jargon with regards to network "management", why can't the customers hold Comcast's marketing department to the same standards? Corporations have more rights than individuals. If only I could incorporate myself...
Because of the word: Reasonable. And what this lawsuit is about is UNreasonable. No technology is infallible.
Tell that to the RIAA

benn19

join:2001-06-21
Plainfield, IL

ALWAYS does get some in trouble

WalMart was busted for this years ago,and the court found in favor of the person filing the suit. The claim was WM's signage stated " ALWAYS The Low Price, ALWAYS". Well as we know no matter who you are, you can't ALWAYS. So they had to change all of the corprate signage to "ALWAYS low prices, ALWAYS"
frost203

join:2005-09-17

Re: ALWAYS does get some in trouble

My father runs his own business and advertises "we will beat any competitors estimate, guaranteed" If a customer says they got a lower estimate elsewhere, he simply beats it, no trickery there, just good business.

off topic but as for chinamart(walmart) my years ago my mother worked there when they advertised MADE IN THE USA. we bought just about everything from there. Last xmas I every and i mean every toy purchased from walmart was broken within two days. I returned a shopping cart full of toys and to my surprise so did hundreds of other people.

In my opinion the high profit, low/minimal quality business model is the scourge of the U.S. Bring me back to the days when I could find a label that said MADE IN THE USA and know that i was getting quality.
Claybraker

join:2002-04-13
none

Ping Rickster

Absent an SLA specifying performance levels, as is common in telecommunications circuits, the defendant, Comcast, an entertainment provider, isn't required to provide reliable service. Nor are they liable for their failure to provide same.
frost203

join:2005-09-17

Re: Ping Rickster

at present that may or may not be true, never the less we should hold them accountable for providing reliable service, since the internet IS used for more than myspace and downloading porn. people and business alike require quality service and we should hold them to higher standards.

GlobalMind
Domino Dude, POWER Systems Guy
Premium
join:2001-10-29
Hollywood, FL

Sounds fun.

Good luck with that there buddy. ; )

woody7
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA
·EarthLink
·DSL EXTREME

pfffttt....

"it all depends on the definition of is is"

Maybe this will cause a pause in the way ad copy is determined ,by removing the asterisk at the bottem, but I doubt it. As for it being frivolous, there have been a lot more than this one. Peace
--
BlooMe

Non_Brain_Washed

@FoxValley.net

Always On ?

In a "Buyer, Beware!" world, it's about time that "Sellers, Beware!"

Sellers have come to believe that if they can get away with it, then it right, and it's good for everyone.

Sellers will say or do nearly anything that can to maximize what they get from you while minimizing the product.

Not all - but MANY.

You'll be seeing more and more "Seller Beware" stories as time goes on.

Trinijoy
Premium
join:2005-09-12
Brick, NJ

A little song for the idiot sueing comcast...

"I want money! I want fame! I want Money, who can ask for anything more?"

Spoken by the Idiot sueing Comcast.
hhuck
I Don't know what to put here
Premium
join:2001-03-03
Windsor, NY

The Stella Awards

People, please, our country and it's courts fall for this shit every day.....

For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella
Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the
McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember,
she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she
was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that,
right?

That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish
lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you
scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

Here are the Stella's for the past year:

7TH PLACE:
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a
jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was
running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised
by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

6TH PLACE:
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus
medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda
Accord.
Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the
car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.

5TH PLACE:
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who was leaving
a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for
Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get
the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the
door connecting the garage to the hou se locked when Dickson pulled it
shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT, days on a case of Pepsi
and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance
company claiming undue mental Anguish.
Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay
Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish.
Keep scratching. There are more...

4TH PLACE:
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock , Arkansas , garnered 4th
Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after
being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though
the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get
as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have
been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed
over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet
gun.
Grrrrr ... Scratch, scratch.

3RD PLACE:
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered
a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a
spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during
an argum ent. What ever happened to people being responsible for their
own actions?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two
more Stella Ts to go...

2ND PLACE:
Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night
club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor,
knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to
sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover
charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah,
plus dental expenses. Go figure.

1ST PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos
pleas e)
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv
Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor
home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on
to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the
driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a
sandwich Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed
and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not
putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the
driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury
awarded her, are you sitting down?, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago
actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs.
Grazinski has any rel atives who might also buy a motor home.
--
Howie, Vista, TDS DSL

tmpchaos
Requiescat in pace
Premium,Mod
join:2000-04-28
Hoboken, NJ
clubs:

Host:
All Things Macintosh
Team RC5
Digital Imaging
Digital Imaging Te..

Re: The Stella Awards

said by hhuck See Profile :

People, please, our country and it's courts fall for this shit every day.....

For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella
Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the
McDonald's in New Mexico where she purchased the coffee. You remember,
she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she
was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that,
right?

That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish
lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you
scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

Here are the Stella's for the past year:

7TH PLACE:
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a
jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was
running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised
by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

6TH PLACE:
Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus
medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda
Accord.
Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the
car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.

5TH PLACE:
Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who was leaving
a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for
Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get
the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the
door connecting the garage to the hou se locked when Dickson pulled it
shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT, days on a case of Pepsi
and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance
company claiming undue mental Anguish.
Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay
Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish.
Keep scratching. There are more...

4TH PLACE:
Jerry Williams, of Little Rock , Arkansas , garnered 4th
Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after
being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though
the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get
as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have
been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed
over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet
gun.
Grrrrr ... Scratch, scratch.

3RD PLACE:
Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered
a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a
spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during
an argum ent. What ever happened to people being responsible for their
own actions?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two
more Stella Ts to go...

2ND PLACE:
Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night
club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor,
knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to
sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover
charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah,
plus dental expenses. Go figure.

1ST PLACE: (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos
pleas e)
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv
Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor
home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on
to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the
driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a
sandwich Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed
and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not
putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the
driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury
awarded her, are you sitting down?, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago
actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs.
Grazinski has any rel atives who might also buy a motor home.
»www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html
--
I get slandered
Libeled
I hear words I never heard in the bible
.

***ATMFAQ***DIFAQ***Kitchen Sink***

Albedo 39

@sbcglobal.net

said by hhuck See Profile :

For those unfamiliar with these awardsThe Oklahoma jury
awarded her, are you sitting down?, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any rel atives who might also buy a motor home.
I know it sounds awful, but I swear to Christ I am this close to emigrating. Anywhere. Just to escape from this Nation of the Stupid.

Is there no end to this sh*t?

Thespis
I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.
Premium
join:2004-08-03
Keller, TX

Re: The Stella Awards

You did read the link in the post above yours, right?
All those stella awards are fabricated...
SKYWARP

join:2005-02-02
Portland, OR

Wow

I wish someone would slap this guy for wasting the court's time and taxpayer's money.

VegasMan
Are We There Yet?

join:2002-11-17
Schaumburg, IL

How Dare you

How dare you people bash Apple they have done nothing wrong.

Oh wait. What's that? This isn't an Apple fanboy thread? Nevermind.
--
In need of a Vegas vacation.

Unit649
I B U, Who U B?
Premium
join:2000-01-22
Stockton, CA
·Comcast

I notice

Many hosting providers now usually say "99% uptime" instead of 100%. I wonder if someone sued because their website was down for a few minutes.

Some even use "95% uptime" on occasion.

The fact its made it this far though tells the story-Comcast should have settled this out of court long ago. The negative publicity will cost them more than the actual costs of pursuing this.

I'm betting someone told them to settle and that person is laughing now at the fact its still going on.

They should offer a settlement now before he actually has a chance to win.
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA

Hey fiberguy

Hey Fiberguy,

Here's one of those "arbitration agreements" that was thrown out. You see, just because companies put things like this in the TOS, or the AUP, or whatever doesn't mean SQUAT. Now, this could very well be overturned, but I just wanted to point out that it's possible to do.
JerryTongue

join:2003-04-01
Auburn, WA

It's news either way

doesnt matter who or why it was posted, it wasn't a lie and we all choose to come here and read it or not.
Forums » Man Sues Comcast For 'Always On' Claimpage: 1 · 2


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