Strange Lawsuits happen all the time, but throw in Halloween and some Lawsuits can get down right weird. Here are our Top 3.
1: “The Haunted House”
In 1996, a woman was attending a Haunted House put on by a local athletic booster club in Illinois. As the woman made her way through a dark hallway, someone jumped out and yelled, scaring her. The woman began to run away, but smashed face first into a concrete block wall that had been covered by a dark sheet, fracturing her nose. The woman filed suit against the owners of the haunted house. However, the courts ruled in the homeowners favor stating the homeowners has no duty to protect the woman from reacting in “bizarre, frightened and unpredictable ways”. The homeowners were not found liable for the woman’s broken nose. Learn More!
2: “The Corn Maze”
In 2002, a woman was going through a Haunted Corn Maze in Louisiana, when a man dressed up the character Jason from Friday the 13th, cranked up a chain saw and began chasing her. The woman fell while running away, slipping on mud and broke her leg in the process. The woman then filed suit against the corn maze owners for negligence due to the muddy conditions. However, the courts ruled in the corn maze owner’s favor, saying the muddy conditions were obvious and the woman knew the corn maze’s purpose was to scare its participants. Read More
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3: “Little Bo Peep and the Burning Sheep”
In 1986, a couple attended a Halloween party. the woman dressed as Little Bo Peep and her husband dressed as the sheep from the child’s tale. During the party, the husband decided to light a cigarette, and in the process lit his homemade costume of Johnson & Johnson cotton balls on fire, causing him to suffer severe burns. The couple attempted to sue Johnson & Johnson claiming the company had failed to notify the consumer of possible injuries. However, the couple admitted in court they were aware the cotton balls were flammable before they bought the product and failed to say whether a notice on the package would have stopped them from using it as a costume. Johnson & Johnson won the products liability case. Read the full court order here.
