Humans seem to be a relatively hardy species in general. We live all over the world, from people roasting at the equator, to the hardy scientists who spend their time drilling ice cores in Antarctica. But if all you read about human nature came from my Torts book, that sense of humanity's strength would be sorely lacking.
Case in point: Bonkowski v. Arlen's Department Store (1962). Mrs. Bonkowski was a patron of Arlen's Department Store in Saginaw, Michigan. Arlen saw that there was some costume jewelry missing, and sent the security guard to talk to Mrs. Bonkowski, to see if she had stolen anything. She emptied her bag, her purse, and showed her reciepts, the guard was satisfied that she hadn't stolen anything, and sent her on her way. Admittedly, this sucks a bit. It's generally uncool to be hassled for something you didn't do. But Mrs. Bonkowski took this to a whole new level, claiming the incident had left her with "various psychosomatic symptoms, including headaches, nervousness, and depression." I mean, what an utter load of crap. There was no force involved, and this took probably no more than fifteen minutes out of her day. Yet a jury awarded her nearly $$44,000. And this, friends, is why I could never be a defense attorney.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
True story. I don't think I would be very happy as a defense attorney, either.
Post a Comment