Sigh…
Colorado Teens Fined for Giving Cookies to Neighbor
DURANGO, Colo. (Reuters) – A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.
The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.
Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: “Have a great night.”
The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking.
OK, so I don’t know of any suggested Tort Reform actually being debated today that would have prevented this, but still shows that while it is one of the greatest systems in the world, much of it is broken.
UPDATE – A local radio station has helped raise money for the girls to pay the fine. This is just so sad.
Here are a few commontaries on the subject to make you smile.
–Joe User.com
– Aces
– Infinatemonkies
– Listen to an interview of one of the girls on the radio.
Originally posted by Paul from Wizbang