One thing never seems to change. People do stupid things. And yet, we have the most amazing capacity to justify our course of action as the right one.
Today's book selection is a tale of outlandish stories of people having their day in court. For a quick and easy summer read, you might put on your list: Whiplash! : America's Most Frivolous Lawsuits by James L. Percelay. You'll find it in the Law Library's collecton at: KF226 P47 2000.
After all, you might need a good laugh after a hard year's work in law school! Here is a preview of some of the cases below.
- The Case of ... "The Missing Mantra" - Plaintiff, then 25, spent the next 11 years enrolled at the Maharishi International University in pursuit of the "perfect state of life" the university promised. Duh! The jury agreed the university had misled our plaintiff and awarded him $137,890. How about that for good karma!
Q: What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer?
A: An offer you can't understand.
- The Case of ... "What's The Frequency?" - Prisoner Pincus claimed his jailers "succceeded" in implanting a "telepathic mind-contol deivce" into his brain. "The instrument, he alleged, allowed prison officials to control his every action." Still lucid enough to sue the Departmenty of Corrections for $11 million, "[t]he judge in this case noted that 'as a matter of law, intracranial thought-control devices are far beyond the reach of currently available technology' and pulled the plug on this frivolous case."
- The Case of ... "Milking The System" - Plaintiff lived life drinking milk until he had a mild stroke. He was certain a "lifetime of milk drinking" made him an addict and caused his stroke, and sued the Washington Dairy Products Commission and Safeway. Besides monetary damages, plaintiff wanted warning labels on dairy products. The judge saw the case as utterly ridiculous and dismissed it. Jay Leno, took up the cause, and on the The Tonight Show displayed a milk-carton label that cautioned: "Too much milk can make you a frivolous lawsuit-filing moron."
Q: What is the difference between a lawyer and a herd of buffalo?
A: The lawyer charges more.
- The Case of ... "Sticky Feet" - We've all heard this one before. Plaintilff trips and falls at the supermarket. They get the store manager to show him what happened. The culprit was a piece of old, dried chewing gum. The judge dismissed their claim of "premises liability," and wondered out loud in court, "How does one trip on gum?"
Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: How many can you afford?
- And, in the "Believe-It-or-Not" category - "Inmate Ronald McDonald sued the Department of Corrections when he was kicked out of a prerelease program and sent back to prison to finish serving his sentence for, what else, stealing hamburgers." Stupid.
That about sums up our review for today. Be sure to take a time out and read a good book this summer!
Submitted by Eric Taylor, Evening Reference Librarian on April 8, 2026
This article appears in the categories: Law Library
