Settling Out of Court Pays Off, Study Finds

Damages claimed for mistaken impressions, aggressive toilet seat

(NEWSER) - Emotional trauma because she used the men’s restroom? Surfer in pain after losing his wave? The Daily Mirror digs up the silliest lawsuits ever filed:

1. Whale tale: After their 27-year-old son was found dead on the back of an orca, parents sued SeaWorld for depicting killer whales as huggable stuffed animals.
2. My name’s Jackass, too! A man named "Jack Ass" sued MTV for plagiarizing adopted moniker.

Court allows woman to sue estate of Chicago teen killed by train

(NEWSER) - An appeals court in Illinois has decided that a dead Chicago teen can be sued for injuries caused by his own flying body parts. The 18-year-old almost-passenger ran in front of a train in an attempt to catch another train and was hit by an Amtrak going 70mph. A big chunk of his body was thrown onto a platform 100 feet away where it knocked down a 58-year-old woman, breaking her leg and wrist. The court decided that the teen's death was "reasonably foreseeable" and allowed the woman to sue his estate, the Chicago Tribune reports. More»

Says his teeth were chipped when it flew off during a high-kick

(NEWSER) - An Indiana man is suing a strip club over some chipped teeth he says he sustained when a dancer accidentally kicked off her shoe and hit him in the face. According to a lawyer, Jake Quagliaroli, 34, was about 20 feet from the stage when the dancer tried a “high-kick maneuver,” sending “one of those heavy shoes with a big heel” across the room and into the roof of his mouth. More»

Andrew Cuomo cites 'massive accounting fraud' in Lehman Bros. dealings

(NEWSER) - Andrew Cuomo filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Ernst & Young today, following reports that the company allegedly helped Lehman Brothers mislead investors . According to the complaint, the accounting firm approved Lehman’s use of “Repo 105” transactions, a type of debt that was labeled as sales to reduce the appearance of risk to investors, and stood idly by while Lehman misled investors and analysts on conference calls, reports the Wall Street Journal . More»

ESPN reporter seeks civil remedies from Marriott, Radisson

(NEWSER) - Erin Andrews is suing the insurance exec who stalked her as well as the hotels where he videotaped her nude, alleging they gave out her room number and allowed him to book rooms next to hers. The ESPN reporter and Dancing With the Stars competitor wants "to hold accountable those who put my personal safety at risk and who allowed my privacy to be invaded," she said in a statement to USA Today . More»