Yahoo sued for message board flaming... DLF in hiding

[WildWop]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3540778.stm

Stephen Galton says he was subject to a "barrage of harassing, defamatory and abusive messages" from anonymous users on a Yahoo message board.

Mr Galton, who wants other users to join in the suit, has accused Yahoo of sheltering users who harass people in cyberspace.


I think it would honestly be worth the airline ticket cost to fly out to where this guy lives and give him a good hard smack upside his head. I mean, suing Yahoo so you can find out who some message board posters are that flamed you? That's pretty pathetic.

[The Successful Dropout]

lmao...ppl will try anything...

[rabbitt]

It's so reminiscent of the McDonalds coffee that no one knew was hot.

[Derwood43]

Whose sleeves are those, and why do they have emotion all over them??


Geez, did anyone tell him he doesn't have to log on???

[edit] Cheesy Rip-Off Joke Alert:

That's like sueing Hustler for giving you Carpal Tunnel syndrome.

[Aryss]

What a tool. You would think he would be mature enough to not go on a message baord to defend his client. Talk about lack of professionalism.

[The Successful Dropout]

What a tool. You would think he would be mature enough to not go on a message baord to defend his client. Talk about lack of professionalism.

i find the word "tool" offensive....and means i saw that you posted that word, i will see you in court...unless you would just rather discuss settlement right now instead :twisted:

[rebenns]

It's so reminiscent of the McDonalds coffee that no one knew was hot.

That bitch is now a mulit millionaire thanks to that fiasco.

[RBM]

The fool is a lawyer, too. Industrious & smart enough to earn a law degree. Dumb enough to make a royal jackass of himself. Heeheehee! It also mentions that "one of the consequences of the publicity Mr. Galton has received over the lawsuit has been to have his email address & telephone number posted to message boards." Good Lord, what a lightning rod!

[rabbitt]

It's so reminiscent of the McDonalds coffee that no one knew was hot.

That bitch is now a mulit millionaire thanks to that fiasco.

Too true...too true...too true...

[PsyClerk]

I'm sure someone else is going to point it out, but I'll do it first and probably more diplomatically. The coffee-McDonald's thing wasn't about the coffee just being hot, it was excessively hot (supposedly). McDonald's had been warned about it in the past because they kept it way above what other restaurants did.

As far as the harrassment thing, complete BS. People take anonymous internet stuff way too seriously. There's more than one example of that right here on CAG.

[jmcc]

It's so reminiscent of the McDonalds coffee that no one knew was hot.

That bitch is now a mulit millionaire thanks to that fiasco.

Too true...too true...too true...

Makes me wish we lived in the time of vengeful Greek gods. She'd be cursed to be chained to a rock and burned with coffee every day forever.

[Backlash]

Man people are so DUMB. I am currently crying right now. Judges need to force plaintiffs to pay a fee to the defendent if they rule the case is too frivolent. Maybe that would stop some of these ridiculous lawsuits.

GAAAAAHHHH!

[Aryss]

What a tool. You would think he would be mature enough to not go on a message baord to defend his client. Talk about lack of professionalism.

i find the word "tool" offensive....and means i saw that you posted that word, i will see you in court...unless you would just rather discuss settlement right now instead :twisted:

We are prepared to offer a settlement of one copy of Superman N64 for your silence.

[jmcc]

Man people are so DUMB. I am currently crying right now. Judges need to force plaintiffs to pay a fee to the defendent if they rule the case is too frivolent. Maybe that would stop some of these ridiculous lawsuits.

GAAAAAHHHH!

And lawyers, excluding public defenders, need to share their client's sentence in full.

[bignick]

this is gonna be awesome! Cant wait to see how this turns out. Can you sue for getting picked on then?

[The Successful Dropout]

What a tool. You would think he would be mature enough to not go on a message baord to defend his client. Talk about lack of professionalism.

i find the word "tool" offensive....and means i saw that you posted that word, i will see you in court...unless you would just rather discuss settlement right now instead :twisted:

We are prepared to offer a settlement of one copy of Superman N64 for your silence.

my lawyer has advised me to ask for three copies...in hopes that you will say two...then we'll have a deal...

[Gothic Walrus]

It also mentions that "one of the consequences of the publicity Mr. Galton has received over the lawsuit has been to have his email address & telephone number posted to message boards."

If you play with fire... :D

Anyone want to begin placing bets on how long it'll be before the case is thrown out? This is a textbook example of a frivolous lawsuit...and with any luck at all, it'll be dumped out of the system ASAP.

[eshbums]

So in theory, if I'm a member of a health club, and I'm hanging out with some friends and I call his client a jackass, and this guy comes over and says, "please don't call him a jackass", and I say, "you're a jackass-lovin' cake-eater for defending that jackass!" he could then sue the health club to get my membership information so he coud come after me?

Maybe this joker needs to be let in on a little secret, there's porn carefully hidden on the internet that he could be looking at instead of making a fool of himself in chat rooms.

[Cornfedwb]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

[The Successful Dropout]

so to be extra clear...yahoo is getting sued and not the ppl who were doing the harassing, right? even though they would/could say that you have the responsibility of what takes place on your account, it would be kinda hard to prove that "said individual" was the one who was actually typing the harassments

and with yahoo being the ones who are getting sued...that means that cheapy could get sued if someone were to be a baby about being "harassed" on here....oh well, at least cheapy knows a good lawyer :wink:

[The Successful Dropout]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

yeah, i heard about the full story on Out to Lunch (a radio program home to bmore)....the damage was crazy...it wasn't just some chick who was trying to get some money because a drop of coffee spilled on her....shes scarred for life..........im sure the money has eased the pain just a little bit, but thats what its supposed to do....

[WildWop]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

That is precisely why she doesn't deserve pity. What kind of moron puts piping-hot coffee IN BETWEEN THEIR LEGS while driving a car? It's a foam cup for god's sake! You twitch your legs, compress the cup, and WHAMMO there goes the liquid. It isn't rocket science, folks.

[Doylerulez]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

[WildWop]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

yeah, i heard about the full story on Out to Lunch (a radio program home to bmore)....the damage was crazy...it wasn't just some chick who was trying to get some money because a drop of coffee spilled on her....shes scarred for life..........im sure the money has eased the pain just a little bit, but thats what its supposed to do....

Ah, but money won't wash away her low IQ. Last I checked, you can't purchase a brain tune-up. Lawmakers need to stpo protecting people from their own stupidity.

[camoor]

It's so reminiscent of the McDonalds coffee that no one knew was hot.

That bitch is now a mulit millionaire thanks to that fiasco.

Mullet Millionare lol. Well said.

[Aryss]

He might be sueing Yahoo but he is after the personal information of the people who posted the comments. He obviously plans to go after them for harassment or something like that if he gets the info. Can you imagine that letter.

Dear Sir,

You called me a tool on a message board and it has caused me mental trauma. My mother said I should sue you because she said I am not a tool. blah blah blah..

At this point, I could be sued by so many people in real life for comments I have made. Maybe I shouldn't admit that...

[Aryss]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

You too? How do they know....LMAO

[The Successful Dropout]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

yeah, i heard about the full story on Out to Lunch (a radio program home to bmore)....the damage was crazy...it wasn't just some chick who was trying to get some money because a drop of coffee spilled on her....shes scarred for life..........im sure the money has eased the pain just a little bit, but thats what its supposed to do....

Ah, but money won't wash away her low IQ. Last I checked, you can't purchase a brain tune-up. Lawmakers need to stpo protecting people from their own stupidity.

the radio station that i was listening to (live 105.7 in bmore, out to lunch) was talking about this because they had a very well-known lawyer (at least in md anyway) on the show, Stephen L Miles (who they have on weekly or something)...he was saying that back when this happened, vehicles didn't come equipped standardly with cup holders, so thats one of the reasons she had it btwn her legs.......now, im not trying to stick up for her totally on that aspect, because it was kinda stupid....but that at least gives her some credit.....ive been known to drive away from a drive-thru with a soda (i dont drink coffee) btwn my legs every now and then too if my cupholders are full or if im in a hurry because the assholes behind you want you to pull away from the window as soon as you've received everything you've ordered (and after paying of course)........but on the same note, i wouldnt be dumb enough to put coffee btwn my legs if i did drink it...for the simple fact that its hot as shit, even if you're wearing pants

however, i do think that the coffee spilling incident should've caused mcdonalds to stop serving coffee (in the drive thrus at least) wwwwaaaaayyyyy before they stop serving supersize meals because some fat bastards can't control what they eat

[The Successful Dropout]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

You too? How do they know....LMAO

Would that letter go the same way?

Dear Sir,

You said that my penis isn't large enough and that I don't know how to please women. My mother said I should sue you because she said that my penis is large enough and that I do know how to please women. blah...blah....blah...

Edit: Forget "and" btwn "enough" and "that"

[epobirs]

It should also be noted that the amount of the McDonald's suit was greatly reduced on appeal, as is common in many cases where juries run amuck.

Far more outrageous are the John Edwards-style class actions in which the entire basis of the suit borders on fiction but by dragging in a whole colelction of plaintiffs the damages go into amazing sums, making for some very rich lawyers and virtually no benefit to anybody else.

My all-time favorite was the Texas-based suit against Toshiba that they settled for $2 Billion because it was feared that a jury would make it $6 Billion. This for a extremely esoteric floppy controller bug of which not one single reported instance of occurring outside of an IBM lab was ever found.

[MeGaWC27]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

You too? How do they know....LMAO

Would that letter go the same way?

Dear Sir,

You said that my penis isn't large enough that I don't know how to please women. My mother said I should sue you because she said that my penis is large enough and that I do know how to please women. blah...blah....blah...

HAHAHA

[DCriminal]

Everyone who's bitching about the hot Mcdonald's coffee. Try actually reading up on the case, there's a lot more to the story then what you assume.

First, Mcdonald's had multiple warnings their coffee was overly hot, secondly, the lid used on top of the coffee was not a secure enough design to ensure the coffee didn't spill. And for jury sympathy, look up the case to see what the burn damage was.. she had the coffee between her legs when it spilled.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

"A vascular surgeon determined that Liebeck suffered full
thickness burns (or third-degree burns) over 6 percent of her body,
including her inner thighs, perineum, buttocks, and genital and groin
areas. She was hospitalized for eight days, during which time she
underwent skin grafting. Liebeck, who also underwent debridement
treatments, sought to settle her claim for $20,000, but McDonalds
refused."

[secretvampire]

Thanks for the links above, I was about to point out the same thing. We studied this case in a college class I took a few years back (in a discussion on how the appeals courts OFTEN greatly reduce or wipe out lower court rulings), and when you see the facts of the case, it is much deeper than "some lady got rich by spilling coffee on herself."

[Storamin]

... Stephen L Miles (who they have on weekly or something)...he was saying that back when this happened, vehicles didn't come equipped standardly with cup holders, so thats one of the reasons she had it btwn her legs ...
Just because her car was a substandard hunk of shit doesn't mean Mcdonalds should have to pay. BMW's have come standard with cupholders on their 5 & 7 series for decades. Course, mine doesn't have it, but no true sports car should have one. She bought the coffee, and it's now under her guidance.

[WildWop]

Thanks for the links above, I was about to point out the same thing. We studied this case in a college class I took a few years back (in a discussion on how the appeals courts OFTEN greatly reduce or wipe out lower court rulings), and when you see the facts of the case, it is much deeper than "some lady got rich by spilling coffee on herself."

But fundamentally it still traces back to the fact that the lady was stupid enough to drive with coffee wedged between her thighs. The lawsuit, I'm sure, had much greater depth, but would not have happened if this lady was not such a moron.

[Aryss]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

You too? How do they know....LMAO

Would that letter go the same way?

Dear Sir,

You said that my penis isn't large enough and that I don't know how to please women. My mother said I should sue you because she said that my penis is large enough and that I do know how to please women. blah...blah....blah...

Edit: Forget "and" btwn "enough" and "that"

That's it, I'm sueing! :lol: That was good man, never saw it coming. Now I have to put this incident in my blog.

The McDonald's case was frivolous. There are some things that are just common sense that you shouldn't need to be warned about. It was a disposable cup and top that is not designed to be that secure. Everything has a flaw. Putting a cup that flexes with a hot liquid inside it between your legs while driving is bound to be a problem. (no comments please)

[RBM]

But fundamentally it still traces back to the fact that the lady was stupid enough to drive with coffee wedged between her thighs. The lawsuit, I'm sure, had much greater depth, but would not have happened if this lady was not such a moron.

I think she was awarded a settlement not because she got seriously scalded, but because McDonalds served their coffee at such an abnormally high temperature & what's more, served it in styrofoam cups which spilled easily. The gut-level resentment most people seem to have at this case stems, methinks, from the simple detail that she was holding it between her legs. Had she been holding it in her hand & received burns on her wrists, then perhaps public sentiment wouldn't be so high against her. Note that the jury did find her "20% at fault" and reduced the award amount correspondingly (perhaps to reflect the fact that she had it where she did.) Ultimately, however, this detail does not detract from the fact that their cups were crappy considering how damn hot their coffee was (a lot of other people had also received serious burns from it.)

[WildWop]

Crappy cups or no, if she put it in a bag and put it on the car floor, nothing bad would have happened.. at least beyond the possibility of coffee on her car's upholstery.

She should have been 50% at fault, since the burns wouldn't have been AS severe as they were if McD's didn't overheat it. The severity of the burns was likely amplified by the LOCATION of the burns. The skin on the inside of the thighs and nether-regions is generally very soft and not exposed to much wear-and-tear from the sun/weather so it is also very sensitive. Even with the scalding coffee, the burns wouldn't have been as bad if she held the damn cup in her hand.

[bmulligan]

I'm not in favor of bullying, or bullies in general, but do you think this idiot who's getting picked on at Yahoo dceserved to get picked on? You remember that kid in high school who was just such a wussie moron crybaby that you couldn't resist picking on him? I'm not condoning harassment, but sometimes people deserve what they get. And whining about it just proves that you're a crybaby bitch.

[The Successful Dropout]

Hmm, I wonder if I should sue my e-mail provider because I keep getting harassing e-mail about how my penis isn't large enough and how I'm not pleasing my woman among other things...

You too? How do they know....LMAO

Would that letter go the same way?

Dear Sir,

You said that my penis isn't large enough and that I don't know how to please women. My mother said I should sue you because she said that my penis is large enough and that I do know how to please women. blah...blah....blah...

Edit: Forget "and" btwn "enough" and "that"

That's it, I'm sueing! :lol: That was good man, never saw it coming. Now I have to put this incident in my blog.

The McDonald's case was frivolous. There are some things that are just common sense that you shouldn't need to be warned about. It was a disposable cup and top that is not designed to be that secure. Everything has a flaw. Putting a cup that flexes with a hot liquid inside it between your legs while driving is bound to be a problem. (no comments please)

when copying and pasting this into your blog, please change my username....for legal reasons

[WildWop]

I'm not in favor of bullying, or bullies in general, but do you think this idiot who's getting picked on at Yahoo dceserved to get picked on? You remember that kid in high school who was just such a wussie moron crybaby that you couldn't resist picking on him? I'm not condoning harassment, but sometimes people deserve what they get. And whining about it just proves that you're a crybaby bitch.

:applause:

I can't imagine that what this guy was exposed to on those message boards is worth the time, expense, and damage to his personal reputation (who is going to take this guy seriously after he sues message board users for defamation of character?) needed. I can picture this guy's replies on the message board, and they all look like the author was 5 years old and got a hold of some old Pee-Wee Herman shows. "I know you are, but what am I?"

[captainfrizo]

The lady spilling coffee on herself is her own fault. That's why there's signs that say "Don't drink and drive." It doesn't take a genius to figure out the sign is there for a reason.

I also love the story of the man putting his RV on cruise control while driving and leaving the wheel to get a drink. The RV wrecked and he sued claiming the RV didn't drive itself like it should have. I guess some people aren't smart enought to know the difference between cruise control and auto-pilot. He won as well.

This guy better not win the case against Yahoo. If so I think I should sue him for being an idiot. I'll probably win too.

[Backlash]

Maybe this joker needs to be let in on a little secret, there's porn carefully hidden on the internet that he could be looking at instead of making a fool of himself in chat rooms.

This actually made me laugh out loud (at my office). :lol:

[magilacudy]

The lady spilling coffee on herself is her own fault. That's why there's signs that say "Don't drink and drive." It doesn't take a genius to figure out the sign is there for a reason.



Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of
her grandson's car when she was severely burned by McDonalds' coffee in
February 1992. Liebeck, 79 at the time, ordered coffee that was served
in a styrofoam cup at the drivethrough window of a local McDonalds.

After receiving the order, the grandson pulled his car forward and
stopped momentarily so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her
coffee. (Critics of civil justice, who have pounced on this case, often
charge that Liebeck was driving the car or that the vehicle was in
motion when she spilled the coffee; neither is true.)

Doesn't take a genius to read up on the facts before posting either.

[captainfrizo]

I never said I was a genius to begin with.

Thank you for correcting that. I was under the impression she was driving while the coffee spilled.

[ZarathosNY]

The other reason that it is also mostly McDonald's fault is that they settled 700 cases of people being burned by their coffee before her. If you have that many people getting burned, and some as serious as she did, you have a responsibilty of lowering the temperature of the coffee. I mean, come on, they were serving it at 180-190 degrees. Your home coffee pot makes it 135-140. Remember the boiling point of water is 212. McDonalds was serving their coffee at near boiling point and they refused to lower it after 700 people have been burned, so who was being irresponsible?

[WildWop]

If 700 people were burned before you for buying the coffee you have just purchased, do you put it in between your legs? Something tells me you wouldn't.

[ElwoodCuse]

THE INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

But this isn't actionable. AOL won a lawsuit a couple years back when the courts ruled that an ISP/message board isn't liable for the conduct of its members, the reason being that doing so would place an undue burden on the admins of the board to monitor content.

He'd have a better time trying to win a suit against an individual that actually libelled him (if he can prove that a person made false statements of fact that harmed him). Of course, magnoliafan doesn't have deep pockets like Yahoo does.

EDIT: about the coffee lady: McDonalds was negligent because spilled coffee is supposed to be an inconveniece that forces you to change your pants, not a serious injury that causes you to get skin grafts. THAT'S why the lady deserved to recover damages.

[biggestinuyashafan]

that is retarted,that is like taking mcdonalds to court because you burnt your tongue on a french fry or because you at there too much and got fat or something like that.

[Dok Diamond]

everything is getting sued nowadays