Jury Reaches Verdict In Tower Of Terror Case

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

http://www.wftv.com/news/23437045/detail.html

[TinaMedley]

I'm glad justice pervailed. I feel sorry for the man thought, but I don't think there was anything that ride did to cause his stroke. Hopefully, this will be done and over with, but knowing people today they'll probably try and appeal it.

[skiingfast]

No doubt. I wouldn't expect Disney to have let it go this far if they suspected if would turn out the other way. But you never know a jury doesn't guarentee that the right conclusion will be found. Just glad that it was today.

[bkreisher]

Twelve people guided by lawyers that really could care less about the facts or common sense. It is about the money, either awarded or settled, that they might earn from a company like Disney.

This case should never have been allowed to proceed. The next one will be for an accident that someone had while driving to Disney. After all, if they had not built the parks, the "victim" would have stayed home.

[KYMickey]

It's nice to see that once in awhile common sense prevails in the courtroom. It's something that happens very seldom these days, it seems like everyone is looking for a huge check from major corporations and juries are more than glad to oblige. Maybe they figure the next time they will be on the receiving end of the big check?

Of course the biggest part of the problem is lawyers who tell their clients that the corporations have huge $'s just waiting to be given away! Maybe in cases like this the suing party should be forced to reimburse Disney for all of their legal expenses, that would certainly make people think about filing claims in the future.

[nytimez]

I'm all about holding any company accountable, but this to me seemed like a cash grab. Glad to see it didn't work.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Twelve people guided by lawyers that really could care less about the facts or common sense. It is about the money, either awarded or settled, that they might earn from a company like Disney.

This case should never have been allowed to proceed. The next one will be for an accident that someone had while driving to Disney. After all, if they had not built the parks, the "victim" would have stayed home.

For the record, we use 6 jurors in Florida plus 1 alternate who is dismissed before deliberations ensue. As for the case proceeding, it has to. A judge can only dismiss a case as a matter of law or via summary judgment. The latter only happens if there is absolutely no evidence to support one side's position. Since both sides offered evidence in their favor, the judge had no choice but to let a jury weigh that evidence and render a decision.

Bravo to Disney for defending itself here!

BobK/Orlando

[devanj1]

Seems that common sense isn't totally lost!!

Now, the Plantiff should be forced to repay all costs associated with the lawsuit!! Maybe this would discourage such frivilous lawsuits!!

[iuki]

Seems that common sense isn't totally lost!!

Now, the Plantiff should be forced to repay all costs associated with the lawsuit!! Maybe this would discourage such frivilous lawsuits!!

I agree. If the plaintiff loses, the defendant should be reimbursed for their expenses. As it stands, too many people file lawsuits "just because they can".

iuki

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Seems that common sense isn't totally lost!!
Now, the Plantiff should be forced to repay all costs associated with the lawsuit!! Maybe this would discourage such frivilous lawsuits!!

Florida law allows the filing of something called a PROPOSAL FOR SETTLEMENT (PFS) by either or both parties. It offers to settle the case for a specific amount of money. It is valid for 30-days and then it expires. If the plaintiff filed a PFS for $x and then gets a verdict more than 25% greater than the PFS he filed, the losing defendant has to pay plaintiff's attorney's fees. If the defendant filed a PFS for $y and then the net verdict is greater than 25% less than the PFS he filed, then the losing plaintiff has to pay the defendant's attorneys fees.

We have no idea whether either side filed PFS's in this case but it is highly unlikely that they did not. With the zero verdict in this case, that would be more than 25% less than any PFS Disney filed (even if Disney only filed one for $100) and thus Disney can collect its attorneys fees from the date Disney's PFS expired expired through trial. If Disney filed one, the plaintiff owes Disney a LOT of money.

BobK/Orlando

[FireDancer]

Ugh, what a waste of resources but I'm glad common sense won out. Who goes on Tower of Terror, walks past signs and signs of warnings, hears riders screaming from down the street, gets in a car with tight fitting restraints, and then is surprised it is a thrill ride? Some people really need to remove themselves from the gene pool for the sake of the rest of the herd.

If the ride were called Tower of Passive Aggressiveness perhaps he could have been caught unaware.

No worries though, our courts will quickly correct their seemingly mis-application of common sense and give millions to someone who drives with hot coffee in their crotch before long and restore balance to the force.

[JeanfromBNA]

[QUOTE=FireDancer;36615034]
If the ride were called Tower of Passive Aggressiveness perhaps he could have been caught unaware.
QUOTE]
:lmao::lmao::lmao:

I'm trying to imagine just what that would look like . . . :laughing:

[WestCOT]

Woot! Disney 1, Grumpy Old Man 0.

[slightlyvolcom]

Ugh, what a waste of resources but I'm glad common sense won out. Who goes on Tower of Terror, walks past signs and signs of warnings, hears riders screaming from down the street, gets in a car with tight fitting restraints, and then is surprised it is a thrill ride? Some people really need to remove themselves from the gene pool for the sake of the rest of the herd.

If the ride were called Tower of Passive Aggressiveness perhaps he could have been caught unaware.

No worries though, our courts will quickly correct their seemingly mis-application of common sense and give millions to someone who drives with hot coffee in their crotch before long and restore balance to the force.

I totally agree with you. Aren't there plenty of warnings before you get on the ride of how intense it is? And don't they say to not ride if you have health issues? And besides, Tower of Terror wasn't build for old people to ride with no problems.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

No worries though, our courts will quickly correct their seemingly mis-application of common sense and give millions to someone who drives with hot coffee in their crotch before long and restore balance to the force.

Need to point out that no court gave the hot coffee lady any money, it was a JURY that did so. Remember that the next time you're on a jury and some lawyer is bamboozling you to buy their story and to leave your common sense at home. Fortunately this Orange County jury did not fall for that b.s.

BobK/Orlando

[FireDancer]

Need to point out that no court gave the hot coffee lady any money, it was a JURY that did so. Remember that the next time you're on a jury and some lawyer is bamboozling you to buy their story and to leave your common sense at home. Fortunately this Orange County jury did not fall for that b.s.


I meant court as in the entirety of system. The judge, jury, lawyers, and underlying structure and legislation that allow for such frivolous lawsuits to even take place, let along win, in the first place.

[Uncleromulus]

At least THIS jury didn't fall for the razzle-dazzle. But I'm sure that they were allowed on the jury (picked?) precisely because the plaintiffs lawyers thought they WERE dumb enough to be bamboozled.

[eliza61]

Need to point out that no court gave the hot coffee lady any money, it was a JURY that did so. Remember that the next time you're on a jury and some lawyer is bamboozling you to buy their story and to leave your common sense at home. Fortunately this Orange County jury did not fall for that b.s.

BobK/Orlando

One of the problems (at least according to my attorney mom) is that often jurors view stuff like this as "David" vs. "Goliath". They think, oh Disney has tons of money so even if the plantiff did some thing incredibly stupid, why not award him a couple hundred grand. :confused3

Another family member works in the city soliciters office, you can't believe the idiotic lawsuits that are leveled. My favorite was the young girl who tried to drive "under" a train while it was stopped at a crossing. Even though the bars were down, sirens where blasting, bells were ringing and various people honking their horns, she sued the city for not protecting her from the train.
:confused3

[Disco]

I meant court as in the entirety of system. The judge, jury, lawyers, and underlying structure and legislation that allow for such frivolous lawsuits to even take place, let along win, in the first place.

Again just chiming in on a pet peeve of mine that the whole American society seems to share. In regards to the Hot Coffee trial, unless you’re a juror at a trial you really don't know what the heck you’re talking about. It was in no way a frivolous lawsuit.
The content of the containers McD's was handing out was hot enough to melt fabric and render flesh from the bone. They then proceeded handing out these spillable containers to people driving up in their cars.
The burnt lady was horribly disfigured and required several surgeries after the event. McD’s fix was to put a warning sign on their containers. Unsurprisingly shortly after another horribly burnt person sued them and won as well.
People use this benchmark as a standard of legal stupidity and it is totally unfounded. Part of the underlying problem is it's hard for the average person to comprehend how incredibly hot water had to be to do the damage it did.
Luckily I was able to experience it first hand and have a good idea. At an airport once we asked, at one of the food service counters, if they could fill our baby bottle with hot water. They agreed and the server came running back with the full bottle and slammed it down on the counter as it was too hot to handle. We proceeded to watch as the hot contents slowly melted the microwave safe container in front of our eyes.
If we had been able to give the bottle to our baby it would have spilled and the contents would have literally melted her face off.
The McD cups were insulated enough that they could be handled for several minutes before becoming too hot. The heat however would also compromise the integrity of the cups a short while after that. This made them much more likely to spill then what they were designed for. Imagine after juggling the money and product at the drive up window you are unable to put your cup in the drink holder as it has some pens and change in it. So you stick the cup between your legs and you slowly start pulling while clearing out the contents of your holder. You start noticing, hey this stuff is really hot I got to get in the cup holder. As you finish clearing it out you rush to pick up the cup and when you do the top easily pops off the suddenly much more malleable container and the pressure of your grip crushes the container. The resulting gush of superheated liquid spills all over your thighs instantly melting and bonding your dress to your thighs as your flesh soon after starts boiling up. This whole time your panicking and as after thought trying not to wreck your car.
Before you judge a decision by your peers it is a good idea to actually know the facts first.

[Uncleromulus]

Actually calling them "peers" is a major leap. I'm sure they were as hand selected as they could have possibly been by the plaintiffs.

"Jury of your peers" has absolutely no valid meaning these days.

[Disco]

Actually calling them "peers" is a major leap. I'm sure they were as hand selected as they could have possibly been by the plaintiffs.

"Jury of your peers" has absolutely no valid meaning these days.

And the defense hand selected them as much as possible to be unbiased. It's a two way street.
I don't know how you would want to be judged in a trial but I'd rather it be a group of regular people than a politician, judge (which are basically now politicians) or god forbid a corporation.

[Uncleromulus]

A two way street perhaps in a civil trial--which this was. Civil matters are certainly different than criminal.
But since we're on the subject of jurors, I must say that in my 40+ years in the Criminal Justice system, most times the defense tries to select the most gullible-looking jurors they can find. After all, they only need ONE such person to avoid a guilty verdict.
The government tries a bit to select intelligent jurors, but usually they don't struggle too hard. After all, 90+ % of them will be defense lawyers soon!!!

[KYMickey]

Again just chiming in on a pet peeve of mine that the whole American society seems to share. In regards to the Hot Coffee trial, unless you’re a juror at a trial you really don't know what the heck you’re talking about. It was in no way a frivolous lawsuit.
And I suppose you were?

The normal expectation is for coffee to be served hot and anyone ordering it should assume that. Any reasonable person knows how to handle hot coffee safely. In this case the person didn't and suffered because of it. If the coffee had not been hot they would have also complained! It was obviously not McDonald's fault. On top of that the ridiculous amount of $'s awarded was just absurd and didn't reflect the actions in the case.

[irishtigger]

:mad: I think this is the dumbest lawsuit I have ever heard of. I do believe its his family that is pushing this lawsuit and not him. However, I did recently read they are planning to appeal the jury's decision not to award any money and retrying the case. I hope they never see a dime. I hate stupidity.

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

There is one thing that I have never understood about this case. Since this person had his stroke in 1998 how was he allowed to file this lawsuit only 4 years later in 2002 or did he have his lawyer contact Disney before it was officially filed and etc?

[FireDancer]

And I suppose you were?

The normal expectation is for coffee to be served hot and anyone ordering it should assume that. Any reasonable person knows how to handle hot coffee safely. In this case the person didn't and suffered because of it. If the coffee had not been hot they would have also complained! It was obviously not McDonald's fault. On top of that the ridiculous amount of $'s awarded was just absurd and didn't reflect the actions in the case.

:thumbsup2

Coffee at Starbucks is served too hot for me so I ask them to put a few ice cubes in it and I make sure my cup holders are all ready to accept the cup as soon as it is handed to me. The second the person decided to hold the coffee between their legs the case became ridiculous. Had the employee spilled the coffee on her of course the facts of the case would have been different.

There is one thing that I have never understood about this case. Since this person had his stroke in 1998 how was he allowed to file this lawsuit only 4 years later in 2002 or did he have his lawyer contact Disney before it was officially filed and etc?

I could see the case taking that long to make it through the system. Really the fact it didn't just get thrown out regardless of the time frame is ridiculous. Our system is clogged with these kinds of garbage cases and because Disney is such a big headline grabbing company with deep pockets they are subject to them. Look at the Segway lawsuit that is going on which is equally ridiculous and while it keeps getting dismissed it doesn't get dismissed in a way that precludes future litigation.

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I could see the case taking that long to make it through the system. Really the fact it didn't just get thrown out regardless of the time frame is ridiculous. Our system is clogged with these kinds of garbage cases and because Disney is such a big headline grabbing company with deep pockets they are subject to them. Look at the Segway lawsuit that is going on which is equally ridiculous and while it keeps getting dismissed it doesn't get dismissed in a way that precludes future litigation.Thank you for that information.