COMMENTARY | Can a man be sued for stupidity? If so, Martin Kessman of New York should have a class action lawsuit against him. Kessman is suing the fast food chain White Castle because he's unable to squeeze his large body into their seats. Kessman says he wrote several complaints to corporate headquarters, and only received coupons for three free hamburgers, and they didn't even include the cheese. White Castle allegedly sent him a letter stating it had plans to expand their booth size, but in Kessman's eyes the chain did not act quickly enough.
The plaintiff states that when he tried to wedge himself into the booth, he banged his knee on the table's metal support and had to "limp out of the restaurant, humiliated," according to International Business Times. Kessman, who continues to feed his addiction to White Castle burgers by sending his wife to pick them up, is suing based on the Americans with Disabilities Act. He believes the company is violating the civil rights of obese and overweight people.
I believe Kessman is out to prove there are an excessive amount of idiots in America who don't hesitate to attempt to exploit businesses for their financial gain when they don't get their way. If he could at least be sued for starting a frivolous lawsuit, or punished in some way, perhaps there wouldn't be so many others out there abusing the legal system.
Restaurants and other businesses serving the public certainly should not be forced to redesign their interior for someone who has a penchant for overeating. I am short and sometimes have trouble reaching items on the higher shelves at a grocery store; should I sue the store because I can't reach them? I think not.
Kessman is, unfortunately, one of many Americans who have started frivolous lawsuits.
Richard Overton from Decatur, Ill., was the plaintiff in an especially bizarre case. In 1991, he sued Anheusur-Busch for misleading advertising. Why? Because when he drank their Bud Light, beautiful women didn't suddenly come to life. He claimed to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss. It's quite obvious Overton already was suffering from mental injury before the Budweiser commercial allegedly deceived him.
Even celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon. Last year, Lindsay Lohan sued E-Trade for $100,000 million over an ad that she believed was all about her. The commercials featured babies who played the stock market. In one of the ads, a baby who happened to be named Lindsay was called a "milkaholic." Lohan believed the name belonged to her, as in Madonna or Oprah. Get over yourself Lindsay; there are probably hundreds of thousands of you out there.
272 comments