Quiz: Can You tell Which Absurd Lawsuits are Real and Which are Fiction?

WASHINGTON, DC-Our country’s business leaders and entrepreneurs have more than enough to deal with – a shaky economy, for starters, as well as onerous laws and regulations – without worrying about whether they’ll wake up one morning to an absurd yet costly lawsuit.

And yet, in today’s world, that’s another common source of uncertainty for businesses.

The United States has the world’s most costly legal system as a share of its economy, and unfortunately, that legal system often facilitates frivolous lawsuits against businesses that have done nothing wrong. What’s worse, many of those companies are the type that can least afford to fight back – small businesses. In fact, nearly half of the nation’s small business owners say they have been threatened or hit with a civil suit.

Of course, some of those lawsuits are legitimate – but too many are downright phony.

So phony, in fact, we’re willing to bet you won’t believe some the frivolous lawsuits that have been levied against American businesses. So, here’s a challenge: We have listed a dozen lawsuits below. Can you tell which ones are real stories about real lawsuits, and which ones we made up?

Try your luck below and then look at the bottom to see which are real and which are fake.

1. A woman sued a delivery company for severe physical pain, mental anguish and humiliation when she tripped over a package left on her doorstep.

2. Three individuals sued a pharmaceutical company for leaving too much empty space in their medicine bottles.

3. A Mexican restaurant chain was sued for attempting to send updated safety information via text message to one of its employees.

4. A group sued an energy drink company because its product did not actually – as its marketing slogan suggests – “give you wings.”

5. A woman sued a movie studio for stealing the story behind their animated blockbuster (about two sisters, one of them a magical ice queen) from her life story.

6. A woman sued a zoo after reaching her hand into a lion’s cage and losing part of her finger.

7. A man who attempted to rob a pizzeria at gunpoint sued the pizzeria and the police for injuries sustained during his arrest.

8. A woman sued her employer for not shifting her work hours to avoid rush hour traffic.

9. A man sued an airline after he booked a flight to – and landed in – the wrong destination.

10. A man sued an eatery, a retailer and his city for more money than exists on the planet.

11. A man sued a fast food restaurant for “undue mental anguish” because he received only one napkin with his order.

12. A man who volunteered at a baseball game sued the baseball league for wages – including overtime pay.

HOW DID YOU DO?

ANSWERS:

In fact, every one of the lawsuits happened in the past two years. Here’s more information about each of the (sadly true) lawsuits from the quiz.

1. In September, a Florida woman sued FedEx for “severe physical pain, mental anguish and humiliation” after tripping over a package placed in her doorway.

2. Three individuals earlier this year filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly tricking them into thinking there were more Tylenol pills in a bottle – even though the number of pills is clearly listed on the front of the bottle. 

3. A Mexican fast-food company tried to send employment-related safety information to one of its employees; however, that individual’s phone had been lost and the number had been reassigned to another cell user. The number’s new owner later sued the company for unwarranted solicitation. 

4. Last fall, energy drink maker Red Bull was sued by plaintiffs who argued that its famous “Red Bull gives you wings” tagline was misleading; that is, the beverage doesn’t produce an actual physical enhancement – like sprouting wings. 

5. Be honest, no way you thought this one was real. And yet, a woman really did sue the Walt Disney Corporation last September for $250 million, claiming the blockbuster movie Frozen was stolen from her life story. (Click here to read more).

6. There were plenty of signs posted around the zoo warning patrons. However, A Michigan woman reached her hand into the lion’s exhibit at Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park and left with one less finger. She has since sued the zoo owners.

7. A Delaware who attempted to commit armed robbery at a local pizza restaurant later filed a lawsuit against six of the pizzeria’s employees and two police officers for $250,000 related to injuries he sustained during his arrest.

8. A New Jersey woman last year claimed to have a case of ‘commuter anxiety’ so severe that it warranted a change in her work schedule. She later filed a lawsuit against her bosses when they could not change her work hours to avoid rush hour. 

9. Sure, that must be a devastating moment when you land in the Caribbean island of Grenada, rather than Granada, Spain. However, suing the airline for $34,000 because you booked the wrong flight seems misguided. But that’s what one man did last summer. 

10. In May 2014, a New York City resident sued the city, an Au Bon Pain, a Kmart, two local hospitals and several others for two undecillion dollars over a laundry list of wrongdoings. If you’re curious (we were), that’s a “2” followed by 36 zeros 

11. A California man sued McDonald’s last year for $1.5 million, claiming servers at the fast food chain only gave him one napkin with his order.  He said the incident caused him “undue mental anguish.” 

12. A man who volunteered at the 2013 baseball All-Star game later sued Major League Baseball for wages – and yes, he demanded overtime pay, too.

media release/US Chamber of Commerce