[Skip the Intro and Jump to the Case List]
My contract for the True Stella Awards book did not stipulate that I had to take the cases off the TSA web site, but I did remove them …until now. Yeah, I waited a good long time!
The full case lineup will eventually be added to this site with extra details: relevant letters published in subsequent newsletters, and any follow-ups I could find — the “what happened to this case?” that I could rarely include in the newsletters since very often such cases take many years to get from “filing” in court to trial (if any), judgement (if any), and appeal (if any). If you are aware of any further developments in any case presented, you are most welcome to let me know.
Note: There will be some minor differences between the cases presented here and what was printed in the True Stella Awards book: I am using the original newsletter text, plus subsequent corrections and updates, and not the book text, which went through a legal review by the book publisher (which resulted in some changes), as well as the book publisher’s editors, who thankfully had a light touch but, of course, there were changes in that process too. I consider my newsletter text and my updates to be mine, and the version that the book publisher created with their process to be “theirs,” and I did not consult the book in the re-posting of these cases.
Note also that the discussion points made in the book — the conclusions made after looking at the full body of cases — are not included on this site. The book is still valuable for those.
The Cases Available Now:
- 001: Unwanted Side Effects
- 002: Palmed Off
- 003: “NIED” Given Dose of Common Sense
- 004: Mommy, He’s Touching Me!
- 005: Silence Is Golden — For Some
- 006: A Penny Earned
- 007: Give Them a Penny and They’ll Want a Dollar
- 008: Ain’t Worth a Plugged Nickel
- 009: Had the Fever and Had it Bad
- 010: I Said NOW, Daddy!
- 011: Here’s To You …Being Responsible For Me
- 012: Pimp Plucked
- 013: Putting Her Faith in the Court System
- 014: Prison Life Sucks
- 015: Free Speech v. Words Reserved for Exclusive Corporate Use
- 016: Dead Burglar Gets to Keep the Loot
- 017: A Good Fence Makes a Good Neighbor
- 018: If I’m Innocent, Someone Else Must be Guilty!
- 019: Activists Attempt to Hog-tie Parents
- 020: Nah Nah Nah Nah (I Can’t Hear You!)
- 021: Forget the Price; What’s the Cost?
- Letter: What Am I Doing Here?
- 022: Strike One, You’re Out!
- 023: OK, Lady, Where’s the Fire?
- 024: If the Name Fits
- 025: Mobius Logic
- 026: America’s Other Favorite Pastime
- 027: Jumping on the Bandwagon
- 028: “SLAPP” Him Around
- 029: Unlucky in Love
- 030: A Lawsuit That’s Nothing to Sneeze At
- 031: The Inevitable Spread of American Legal Ideas
- 032: And the McBandwagon Plays On
- 033: Taking Dead Aim
- 034: Duck!!
- Letters: Lawyer Ethics
- 035: It’s Better than the Lottery
- 036: No Rhyme or Reason
- 037: Lawyer in Training
- 038: Pursuing a Deep Pocket
- 039: A Shocking Conclusion
- 040: Shaggy Dog Story
- 041: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
- 042: Jailhouse Blues
- Editorial: Power Grab
- 043: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
- 044: Halled into Court
- 045: It Couldn’t Have Happened to a Nicer Industry
- 046: Big Shot
- 047: First in Line
- 048: What Comes Around, Goes Around
- 049: Whiff!
- 050: Trans-Frivolous Lawsuit
- 051: New Zoo Review
- 052: Taking Them to the Cleaners
- 053: Heads Up — Way Up
- 054: Dead to Rights
- 055: I’ll Be Your (Subpoena) Server Today
- 056: Take ’em For a Ride
- 057: Don’t Walk
- 058: Harry Potter and the Colossal Lawsuit
- 059: I See the Light!
- 060: Red Light / Green Light / Who Can I / Sue Tonight?
- 061: A Stunning Situation
- 062: Food Fight
- 063: “Hindsight, of Course, Is a Marvelous Thing”
- 064: Classless of 2008
- 065: By Hook or by Crook
- 066: The Countess of Monte Cristo
- 067: Cat Fight
- Editorial: The People’s Courts
- 068: A Dog Eat Dog World
- 069: Everybody Wants to Be a Critic
- 070: Without Remorse
- 071: We’ve Got Your (Account) Number, Chump
- 072: Lightning Strikes Twice
- 073: It Ought to Be a Crime
- 074: That Voodoo You Do Not Well
- 075: Coors Slight
- 076: We Can All See Right Through this One
- 077: Fair — or Foul?
- 078: End Run
- 079: His Lawyer Can Run Rings Around Yours
- 080: Grave Mistake
- 081: Payday Play
- 082: A Sharp SLAPP in the Face
- 083: Very Dazed, and Very Confused
- 084: Click-It or Ticket
- 085: The Case of the Beni-ha-ha Chef
- 086: Just Charge It
- 087: I Want it All, and I Want it Now
- 088: The Long, Sad Tale of a Gift Plate of Cookies
- 089: A Case that Flopped
- 090: Let Your Fingers Do the Walking — to Court
- 091: They’re GRRRRREAT!
- 092: Downhill Racer
- 093: Bird Brained
- 094: Testing, Testing, 1-2-3(-4-5-6)
- 095: Her Generosity Is Overwhelming
- Editorial: “Kill All the Lawyers!”
- 096: Watch While I Pull a Rabbit out of This Hat
- 097: An Educational Experience
- 098: The Escapist Mentality
- 099: Are You Sure You’re Insured?
- 100: Judge the Problem for Yourself
- 101: Puerile Potty Prank
- 102: Overwrought
- 103: Netfixed
- 104: Something for Nothing, Defined
- 105: The Darwin Awards Meets Stella
- 106: Chain Reaction
- Editorial: Stella Expands to the U.K.?
- 107: None of Your Business:
The Right of (Dis)Association - 108: None of Your Business II:
Second Chances - 109: Lawnmower Man
- 110: Be like Mike?
- 111: A Really Ugly Court Fight
- 112: Lofty Ideals of the Law
- 113: Hey Rocky! Watch While I Pull a Lawsuit out of this Hat
- 114: The Fruitcake Lady
- 115: Kinderstart: Wailing like a Baby
- 116: “We Expect Them to Own up to Their Mistakes”
- 117: Grinding the Law to a Halt
- 118: Nobody Wins
- 119: Closure and Conciliation
- 120: We’ll Beat the Pants off You
- 121: Hot Meal, Cold Heart
- Letter: A Lawyer Who Likes TSA
- 122: Secular Infantilism
- Wrapping Things Up
- Project Complete
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