Wham-O is suing over the use of the slip and slide toy in the movie Dickie Roberts(Personally the only funny looking scene)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=790&e=3&u=/ap/20030909/ap_en_mo/dickie_roberts_lawsuit
After reading this my thoughts are, as long as Wham-O isn't asking for monetary compensation they have every right to want to cover their asses.
What do all of you think?
The key sentence is:
"The product was taken off store shelves in the 1990s after a series of adult accidents"
Wham-O is afraid that they'll be sued by freakin' idiots who use the slip-n-slide contrary to the directions because those idiots saw it in the movie. I can't really blame Wham-O in an era where folks sue McDonalds because they eat there all the time & get fat.
Raj's exactly right. Look at the lawsuits that people have been bringing up lately. Look at all of those kids who do stuff like the guys on Jackass do and end up hurt or dead. The lawsuit's crazy as hell, but so is the world we live in. Wham-O's probably thinking that they might as well give it a go, who can blame them?
Nick
The problem isn't that stupid people sue. It's that stupid judges rule in their favour.
Gee, I wonder if I can sue the makers of my toaster... I stuck my hand in it while it was on to see if the little red things were warm enough, and got burned! They should put a warning on things like that!
"The problem isn't that stupid people sue. It's that stupid judges rule in their favour."
STUPID Juries and crooked lawyers too.
Stupid lawsuits are sprouting up everywhere. I do believe that this particular one is stupid, but oh well.
Another that comes to mind is the most recent sueing of the makers of Grand Theft Auto. Two teenage boys recently drove down the interstate firing at passing cars. A few people were injured and one was killed. They claimed that they were acting out a scene from Grand Theft Auto.
This lawsuit is insane! I have played all of the GTAs 1-Vice City well over 50-100 hours each. I never went out and killed anybody. It doesn't make me want to go out and start shooting up the interstate! You have to be mentally imbalanced and have an idea like this already in your head to commit such a crime.
Stupid.
I once left my family farm to fly across the galaxy to destroy a huge planet-destroying space station with super-mystical powers.
I told the judge I was inspired by a scene from a movie.
*THIS* btw, answers Burgomaster's question of why we watch B-Movies. It's safer. You don't really see too many people trying to re-enact scenes from time-travelling post-apocalytpic cyborg movies.
Speaking of frivolous lawsuits...here's a funny joke about one:
Somewhere in the deep South, Bubba Billy Earl called an attorney and asked, "Is it true they're suing the cigarette companies for causing people to get cancer?"
"Yes, Bubba Billy Earl that is true."
Bubba Billy Earl asked, "And people are suing the fast food restaurants for making them fat and clogging their arteries with all them burgers and fries, is that true, mister lawyer?"
"Sure is Bubba Billy Earl, but why do you ask?"
"Cause I was thinkin' maybe I can sue Budweiser for all them ugly women I've been wakin' up with...
The key is that it has not been available on the market in years. Somebody would have to obtain a set somewhere, and I think, at this point, that would be a strong clue that that person wanted to be able to sue someone or something.
Some people still have their Slip-n-Slides in their old boxes in the attic or basement and have maybe let their younger nieces and nephews, grandchildren, grand-nieces and nephews, or neighbor kids play with them. I don't know if Wham-O has a stupid lawsuit or not, but I have to say that people really have to use some good common sense and caution.
Stupid and GREEDY judges and jurys and lawyers.
Danny Devito : What do you call 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? ......A promising start. (War of the rose's.)
I watched a show about how dangerous those slip and slides are to adults. They showed a home video that was pretty bad.
This father goes sliding down one at his daughter's birthday party and just lays there at the end of it. All the kids are jumping around laughing thinking he is just kidding around. Someone finally realized he wasn't kidding around and then panic ensued. It turns out he was paralyzed from the neck down. It kind of reminded me of Faces of Death.