Jonathan Turley, legal blogger and law professor at The George Washington University School of Law, celebrates Thanksgiving every year with “Turkey Torts.” These are Thanksgiving-related lawsuits chosen because they give “personal injury lawyers a great deal to be thankful for.”
Here are some of his picks for this year:
- A woman, employed at the California arm of an India-based technology firm, was criticized for celebrating Thanksgiving and forced to work that day. Her lawsuit alleges the firm created a hostile work environment in violation of federal employment laws.
- A family wound up in jail on assault and battery charges in a dispute over the proper turkey stuffing. The family member who started the dispute used celery. His daughter-in-law objected because her husband is allergic to celery. A physical fight ensued, and several family members were charged and had Thanksgiving dinner in jail. Presumably, without celery stuffing.
- An Ohio woman invited her niece to Thanksgiving dinner. The niece brought her daughter Erica, age seven. After dinner, Erica went outside and crawled under an electric fence guarding the aunt’s and uncle’s horses in a paddock. One of the horses kicked Ericka in the face, and she sued her aunt and uncle. The court found for the aunt and uncle.
Source: Jonathan Turley, “Turkey Torts (2011),” November 24, 2011
Maureen Martin (1947 – 2013)
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
