When will a fraternity die

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by kddani
Got any links to any?

No. Wish I did. These things generally come over the news wires for use as "kickers" (Final humorous story on newscast) because of their apparent stupidity.

It's usually a situation where some jury makes a decision that is totally off the wall.

More to the point might be my other comment about someone slipping on my sidewalk.

ETA I remember a case within the past couple of years where a woman sued a (jewelry, I think) store because she tripped over a child and broke her ankle or leg or something while she was shopping in the store.

She won the case.

The kicker in this case is that it was HER child she tripped over.

A little closer to the situation at hand, that's a reason a lot of people won't have swimming pools in their yards. If someone sneaks over the 9 ft. high fence topped with concertina wire and drowns in their pool, they'll probably get sued.

[Little E]

These aren't the best examples, but they are kinda funny


http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/00nov3.html

November 21 -- Burglar sues for compensation. In Australia, "[a] man who broke into a house and attacked the home owner when he was discovered has launched a civil action against his victim for compensation." Shane Colburn says he is still suffering "physically and emotionally" from the aftermath of the 1997 incident, in which he scuffled with Peter Vucetic and Giavanna Grah and was attacked by the couple's dogs. ("The thief who sued his victim", Daily Telegraph (NSW, Australia), Nov. 17).




http://www.wellsinsagency.com/articl...t_yourself.htm

BURGLAR SUES HOMEOWNER

Terrence Dickson of Bristol, PA finished burglarizing a house and left through the garage. The door to the house locked behind him and the automatic door opener in the garage wasn’t working so he was stuck. The family was on vacation and Dickson was trapped in the garage for 8 days. He lived on dog food and Pepsi (and you thought it wasn’t good for you!). When he got out, he sued the homeowner for mental anguish. A jury awarded him $500,000.

[kddani]

Originally posted by Little E
These aren't the best examples, but they are kinda funny


http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/00nov3.html

November 21 -- Burglar sues for compensation. In Australia, "[a] man who broke into a house and attacked the home owner when he was discovered has launched a civil action against his victim for compensation." Shane Colburn says he is still suffering "physically and emotionally" from the aftermath of the 1997 incident, in which he scuffled with Peter Vucetic and Giavanna Grah and was attacked by the couple's dogs. ("The thief who sued his victim", Daily Telegraph (NSW, Australia), Nov. 17).




http://www.wellsinsagency.com/articl...t_yourself.htm

BURGLAR SUES HOMEOWNER

Terrence Dickson of Bristol, PA finished burglarizing a house and left through the garage. The door to the house locked behind him and the automatic door opener in the garage wasn’t working so he was stuck. The family was on vacation and Dickson was trapped in the garage for 8 days. He lived on dog food and Pepsi (and you thought it wasn’t good for you!). When he got out, he sued the homeowner for mental anguish. A jury awarded him $500,000.

Lol, well the first was Australia so who knows what their law is. Or if it's real.

The second example is urban legand as well... a shame an insurance company put that on their website! No credible news sources cite it either.

[Little E]

I'm not saying its credible, but it sure is funny.

There were credible ones about burglar's suing after getting shot, still funny

[gpb1874]

i think DeltAlum has it right.....if the person is on your property and is injured because you had something hazardous on your property, you can get sued. this would go beyond the arguement of "the party was over" since it was at the chapter house.

I don't get the ice thing b/c i live in texas and it snowed here in december for the first time in 10 years, but i think that is really odd. I know people should make an effort to get it off the sidewalk, but you can't monitor it 24/7.

and people in CA have sued b/c they broke into someone's house and were shot or otherwise injured while in the process. if you get hurt while committing a crime, too bad! may be some exceptions, but not many. another reason i love being in texas!

<<back to real topic>> i doubt it will matter if the party is over.

[NebraskaDelt]

KDDanni, I don't think Westlaw has copies of trial court documents which is where these types of cases usually end. You would be able to find them if they went up the appeals route.

It's sad, but there are a lot of lawyers who don't have any ethics and will run with such a case. It's really sad and why we have a bad rep.

In my opinion, in this case, there would be no comment on whether this guy was trespassing...it was a party with a kiddie pool. From my experience in undergrad, us testosterone frat guys would go wild if someone was at OUR party who wasn't supposed to be. We got rid of him in an instant. Usually parties are free for alls unless the risk management tactics are put in place (ie: security guard, id checker, etc). If anything, there would be contributory negligence on the part of the injured party goer (and depending on state law) the jury decides which amount he would be liable and base the judgement within those perameters.

[NebraskaDelt]

Originally posted by gpb1874

and people in CA have sued b/c they broke into someone's house and were shot or otherwise injured while in the process. if you get hurt while committing a crime, too bad! may be some exceptions, but not many. another reason i love being in texas!

<<back to real topic>> i doubt it will matter if the party is over.

GPB, the reason they sued is because most state law says you can't use excessive force when someone breaks into your home. (Texas, of course, may be a totally different story, but in liberal California, you can only protect yourself using grass.) This goes back to what Kddani was talking about concerning the spearguns or whatever (it has been a long time since 1L torts). The homeowner lost because the defense used was extra-ordinary. If the robber had a gun, it would be a different story. If the robber had a knife, a gun in defense is arguable, but you could use a knife.

Enough legal talk, it's giving me a headache. Wow, I better get back to work at the law firm...

[kddani]

Originally posted by NebraskaDelt
KDDanni, I don't think Westlaw has copies of trial court documents which is where these types of cases usually end. You would be able to find them if they went up the appeals route.

Yep, no kidding, I know that. Something incredibly stupid like that would certainly be appealed by the insurance company, no insurance company would want to set that precedent.
Also google didn't reveal a single reputable source confirming either story, in fact, it revealed multiple sites that said they were hoaxes. There are plenty of lawyers who would try, but there doesn't seem to be many that suceed.

A citizen can use NONdeadly force in protecting their property, but no one can use deadly force to protect their property unless their life (or their family's) is in danger.

Yay for Professor Whitebread's Crim Law lecture yesterday, the law regarding trap guns is fresh in my head

back to studying, and back to the discussion of the thread b/c the fraternity certainly didn't set up a trap gun to go off at trespassers, lol

[AXO Alum]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
A little closer to the situation at hand, that's a reason a lot of people won't have swimming pools in their yards. If someone sneaks over the 9 ft. high fence topped with concertina wire and drowns in their pool, they'll probably get sued.

My parents insurance like quadrupled when they installed a pool. They put in chain link fence around the entire backyard (nearly an acre), put locks on all three gates, and the "No Trespassing" signs. Still, if someone were to get hurt, they know full well that none of those precautions will prevent a suit.

We had to put up Beware of Dogs signs on our fence because our dogs are around 50lbs. Those are considered "dangerous" so we had to have the signs. One is an Aussie Shepard mix (if you have food, he couldn't care less what you steal) and the other is a choc lab mix (hello - can I be your bestest friend?) - yeah, dangerous for sure

What a crazy world!!

[Tom Earp]

Trip weapons are illegal in most States if not all. Prime example:

Nebraska, an escaped convict broke into an old farm house with a Trip Shot gun from having been broken into so many times, He was injured from the shotgun blast. The Convict won and the Farmer went to jail.



If there is a law that says a private citizen cannot protect themselves from and intruder who breaks in, I would love to read it.

Of course the Liberl Heart Bleeding Leagals want to make everything legal to do! So, screw the Citizinary.

Lawerence, Ks. Judgette, gives Child Molestor a slap on the hand.

Wow I am impressed by this person or not!

All Judges should be voted on. They should have terms like anyother elected Official! They are not omnipresent.

A judge in KC, Ks. told Pickets in front of His home He would find them in Contempt if they did not leave.

Legal Abuse at its best.

[hoosier]

Apparently kiddee wading pools are not being emphasized in our Risk Mgt. lessons, and now we have a case to spotlight.

As one who visits a lot of chapter houses in the spring and summer, almost every house has some pool in the front or side yard so a few can cool off. These pools seem to be something somebody buys for a few bucks, fills with water, and uses a few times, and then it sets there attracting mosquitos for months.

If you look in the scrapbook, there's always a picture of some bros setting in the pool, always with a beer in hand.

[PhoenixAzul]

Otterbein Greeks have been avoiding the Kiddee pools...we go the cheap way- SLIP N SLIDE!

[roqueemae]

I don't think that is much better for risk management purposes...

[gpb1874]

Originally posted by NebraskaDelt
GPB, the reason they sued is because most state law says you can't use excessive force when someone breaks into your home. (Texas, of course, may be a totally different story, but in liberal California, you can only protect yourself using grass.) This goes back to what Kddani was talking about concerning the spearguns or whatever (it has been a long time since 1L torts). The homeowner lost because the defense used was extra-ordinary. If the robber had a gun, it would be a different story. If the robber had a knife, a gun in defense is arguable, but you could use a knife.

In texas, if you are on my property and i believe you are a threat to me or my property, i can use force. I don't necessarily think it can be deadly force unless you have a weapon. now, if it's night, i can shoot you if you step foot on my grass b/c you cannot always see well at night and better to be safe than sorry. it's kinda nice (in the way that i can protect myself without worrying too much about going to jail) but also a little scary at the same time!

[DeltAlum]

Hijack...

I used to drink with a lot of cops -- Denver PD and Colorado State Patrol.

They told me once that if I ever shot a burgler on my front porch, to drag him inside the house before the cops got there.