Thousands and thousands of court cases are filed every day. They come to life when a dispute arises between two parties and later on they are resolved in a court of law. And there are two types of court cases: criminal and civil cases. Now, usually, people file court cases because their rights are violated or because they are hurt physically or emotionally. And other times, people file court cases for extremely bizarre reasons. Here are some of the craziest ones ever.
Smelly feet can get you expelled
As you know, smelly feet can sometimes become a problem for students. But it is most definably not the kind of problem that can take you to court. However, in 2009 philosophy undergraduate Teunis Tenbrook sued Erasmus University in Rotterdam. It turns out the university expelled him for his insufferably stinky extremities. The strong pong made it impossible for the staff at the center of learning to work. So Tenuis launched a 10-year court action. It ended with a judge saying that staff would just have to “hold their noses.”
Your job is too boring
Frederic Desnard sued his bosses for £280,000 because his work was too boring. He was a 44-year-old manager. Apparently, the most exciting bits of his role were stripped off shortly after being hired by a perfume maker in Paris. Even though the sum of money demanded sounds crazy, it is not the craziest court case that ever happened.
Attacked by a seagull
If you think about it, it is not unusual to seek compensation for a physical attack. Well, unless a seagull assaults you. It was in 2014, when Cathie Kelly, from Glasgow, claimed that she had fallen down and injured herself after the bird swooped her down. The event took place outside her office. Her precise words were the following:“This gull came for me at full speed, wings outstretched, coming right for my face.” Moreover, Mrs. Kelly was demanding £7,000 from the landlords of her workplace. In her opinion, it was their responsibility to deal with the problem of the gulls. Furthermore, the birds became aggressive after their chicks were born. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed in court. The judge said there was no way of knowing whether the gull came from the top of her office.
Bullying is not cool
An advertising executive, Laura Ziv, sued her bosses for £3.9million for bullying her. Apparently, they compared her to Susan Boyle. According to the lawsuit at a party by the company’s biggest client, she was “repeatedly referring to Ziv as “Susan Boyle.” And at that time, the Scottish singer was often teased in the media for being old, fat and ugly.”
Hit by a pineapple
A Glaswegian police officer Tracey Ormsby tried to sue for £1.5million as a result of a pineapple-related injury. Bizarrely, the tropical fruit struck her during a protest at the closure of a swimming pool in 2001. Moreover, she claims that she was forced to quit her job as a result of the minor injury. Then she spent three years as a mentally scarred recluse. But that is not all: when the case went to court a judge heard how Tracey had taken trips around the world. Furthermore, Strathclyde Police claimed she yelled: “Ker-ching, I’m in the money!” when a doctor diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. But she got £3,000.
One sex session a week
Domestic dispute: a woman, Brenda, rationed her husband to one sex session a week. The husband, David Mason, took her to court and won. Apparently, Brenda’s only concern was not getting pregnant for the third time. Afterwards, she took it to appeal. And judges decided that no court could rule she was being unreasonable.
GTE Yellow Pages Directory
A lawyer from Southern California sued GTE California. It was after his name was listed in its GTE Yellow Pages Directory under the heading “Reptiles.” He wanted damages in excess of $100,000. Moreover, he claimed that the incident caused him to become the target of bad jokes and rude telephone calls. I guess, he had a reason.
Renault Clio as a prize
Cathy McGowan from the US answered a question on Radio Buxton. Her answer was correct so she won the local radio competition. The local radio promised her a Renault Clio as a prize. However, she only got a toy car. So she filed a court case against the radio station, which later paid her $28,000.
Court cases turn out to be out of the blue and shocking sometimes. But it turns out, even some of the crazy ones can win and get the compensation they seek.