The Media Speaks

May it Please the Court:

Just a few examples of what the media has said about the True Stella Awards (most recent first):

• “The award has also attracted attention for revealing some of the most absurd examples of people abusing the legal system.” —Economic Times (India)
• “The Stella Awards is a Web site dedicated to reporting outrageous court cases — and there are a lot of them.” —Calaveras Enterprise
• “Randy Cassingham, …who also debunks the Stellas on his website, says he is angry about the [urban legend] tales — not only because they are false but also because they divert attention from what he believes are real abuses in the legal system.” —Los Angeles Times
• “With his ‘Stella’ awards — named for Stella Liebeck, who in 1992 spilled McDonald’s coffee on her lap, sued the company and was awarded $2.9 million from a jury — Cassingham is raising awareness.” —American Legion Magazine
• “[In the history of hot coffee lawsuits against McDonald’s,] Stella Liebeck is considered the most successful claimant at this point. The case provided the inspiration for the True Stella Awards for [the] most incredible lawsuits within the American court system.” —Pravda (Russia)
• “If, after slogging your way through the dense thicket of a typical legal document, you are ready to sell your belongings and live under a bridge, be sure to take a break and exercise your right to laugh. One place to begin this restoration of sanity is The Stella Awards, which chronicles the sad-yet-true mess of ridiculous lawsuits.” —San Diego ComputorEdge
• “Named after Stella Liebeck, the woman who sued McDonald’s after spilling hot coffee in herself, the Stella Awards are presented annually in recognition of the most absurd lawsuits in America.” —Reader’s Digest

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  “Along with the Darwin Awards, the Stella Awards are some of the most bizarre and tragically funny honours on the web.” —Bermuda Sun

• “The Stella Awards recognize the most outrageous U.S. lawsuits of the year.” —Toronto Globe & Mail (Canada)
• “On top of producing This is True, Cassingham has his sister site, the True Stella Awards, which is just as entertaining. Cassingham’s taglines are always clever and humorous, and the articles he cites are always fascinating.” —Saskatchewan Lifestyles (Canada)
• “The Oscars for creative litigation.” —Guardian (London)
• “Bizarre… frivolous…. Actual cases of weird lawsuits.” —WCLT Radio (Newark, Ohio)
• “The True Stella Awards only publishes outrageous cases that [Cassingham] can verify, giving you a source of ammunition in talking with lawmakers and business colleagues about the need for changes in the tort system.” —Nebraska Trucker magazine
• “He has no trouble finding loony lawsuits for the site,” Cassingham said. Lawyers have convinced Americans that every time something bad happens, someone has to pay — even if that someone was not at fault.” —Newark Star-Ledger
• “Online, the name Stella has become shorthand for an outrageous or ridiculous lawsuit. One site, StellaAwards.com, honors those who spectacularly misuse the legal system.” —Playboy
• “While we’re talking weird, be sure to visit This is True’s sister site, The Stella Awards. It is ‘awards’ for ‘wild, outrageous, or ridiculous lawsuits’.” —News24 (South Africa)
• “The real Stella Awards are a project of This is True, a weekly news commentary of bizarre-but-true stories and commentary by Colorado columnist Randy Cassingham.” —Oklahoma Gazette
• “There is a real Stella Awards list, compiled by Colorado humorist Randy Cassingham. His true cases of lawsuit abuse are almost as outrageous as the made up ones.” —Macon Telegraph
• “Not specifically Christian, but still pretty useful, are the Stella Awards. ‘Stella Awards’ are stories about impossible, outrageous legal claims. Whenever there’s a new (genuine) Stella story, this site will send it to you by e-mail, thus supplying you with loads of free discussion material on greed, blame, stupidity, avoiding responsibility, living in a dream world, and lots more besides. —Youthwork Magazine (Resources for Christian Youth Ministry; U.K.)
• “Do you remember Stella Liebeck? You might appreciate a Web site named after her….” —Billings Gazette
• “If it’s a lawsuit with a mind-boggling lack of merit or a demand for an outsize settlement, you can count on Randy to find it out and report on the details.” —List-a-Day.com
• “Journalist/Humorist Randy Cassingham has a knack for devising entertaining and provocative syndicated columns and e-mail publications. His newest is the Stella Awards, true stories about ridiculous U.S. legal cases.” —Poynter Institute E-Media Tidbits
• This Site has Also been featured by the Albuquerque Journal, CNN, Columbus Dispatch, Spiegel (Germany), Aurora (Ill.) Beacon-News, Hyena (Czech Republic), Le Monde (France), Washington Post, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, The Litigious Times (publication of the Financial Advisor’s Legal Association), Deccan Herald (India), Stern (Germany), Ventura County Star, and many more (and radio stations too numerous to mention!)

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