Volume 13, Issue 02
Page 17
The PEACEKEEPER
From the JAG
LAWSUIT continued from pg. 16
The Infamous Hot Coffee Lawsuit
You know that warning on the side of your hot drink? Well, you can thank Stella Liebeck for that. Liebeck
suffered third‐degree burns from McDonald's coffee from the cup she was holding between her knees and sued the
company for damages. McDonalds refused to se le and the case went to a jury, which awarded Liebeck $2.7 million.
The judge reduced the amount and both par es appealed. The case was se led for an undisclosed amount, but
paved the way for similar li ga on that other corpora ons have had to fend off.
Mouse in Mt. Dew
What's worse than a finger in your chili? How about a mouse in your Mountain Dew? That's what one oil
worker claimed he found when he popped open a can of his favorite beverage. In 2009, Ronald Ball sued Pepsi for
$50,000 in damages as a result of the dead mouse. Pepsi argued that there couldn't have been a dead mouse in his
Mt. Dew because the yellow brew would have liquefied the rodent. Pepsi insisted on their denial of liability, even as
they se led for an undisclosed sum.
Michael Jordan Looks Like Him
Instead of being happy that people think
he looks like Michael Jordan, Alan Heckard is
mad. He says he feels uncomfortable hearing
people make the constant comparisons, and it
was causing emo onal pain and suffering. It
was especially galling when fellow gym‐goers
accused Heckard of playing ball like Jordan. So,
in 2006, he sued Michael Jordan for $416 mil‐
lion. He also sued Nike for the same amount on
the grounds that they made Jordan a recogniza‐
ble celebrity. Heckard eventually dropped the
suit.
Paul Ceglia v. Facebook
Paul Ceglia, owner of a wood‐pellet fuel distribu on business, sued Mark Zuckerberg in 2010, claiming he
owns 84% of Facebook. The claim was based on a contract he and Zuckerberg allegedly entered into in 2003, in
which Ceglia gave Zuckerberg start‐up money for "The Facebook." A er back‐and‐forth fraud allega ons, claims of
doctored documents, and a lot of lawyer's fees, Ceglia was dropped by three law firms. The judge then ordered him
to produce a le er wri en by his former lawyers calling his contract a fraud. Between nearly $1 million in moun ng
court fees and Facebook's plumme ng share price on the stock market, should Ceglia ever win his suit, he may find it
wasn't worth the effort.