Total BS........even in our litigious society

[shropshire 0]

Like the T.V Judge Judy thing?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JamesNahikian 0]

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Like the T.V Judge Judy thing?

Yep, it's like the JJT.

So now I'm taking bets as to how long it will be until somebody rings the asshat's doorbell late at night but leaves a flaming bag of dog crap instead of cookies and well wishes.

The smart money says less than a month's time.

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[kelpdiver 2]

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She thought perhaps they were burglars or some neighbors she had tangled with in the past, she said.

Really. Problems with other neighbors. What a shock!

Yeah, to me that was the most telling line in the article. Some people just don't play well with others. And if she thought the neighbors didn't like her before...she's probably going to need to move. And rejecting a written apology? The girls probably thought they'd "cause" another anxiety attack if they showed at the door again.

OTOH, the verdict really just gave the bat what the girls offered to her, right? I think one should decline such an offer myself, but it was made. I wonder how much the legal costs were - that's the bad part of this mess.

[JamesNahikian 0]

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I wonder how much the legal costs were - that's the bad part of this mess.

The legal costs were probably less than the cost of dinner and a movie for one. In fact, it's possible the legal costs were zero if the claimant requested and received a waiver of the filing fee. It was only a small claims court action for pete's sake. (and it may be appealed.)

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[turtlespeed 226]

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Young said she believes that the girls should not have been running from door to door late at night.

And in there lies the whole thing - the bitch didn't agree with the girls being out that late and decided to teach them a lesson -
as for the anxiety - I think the kids should sue her into a state run retirement home for the lesson they were taught.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[ltdiver 3]

Dang. Guess I got off easy when we'd gather flowers on May Day and place them on neighbor's porches, ring the doorbell and run away and hide...waiting for someone to open the door and discover the treat we'd left!

Anyone else do that on May 1st when they were young?

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[skydyvr 0]

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Anyone else do that on May 1st when they were young?

Yes!

Only, it wasn't flowers. And it was on fire.

. . =(_8^(1)

[ltdiver 3]

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Anyone else do that on May 1st when they were young?

Yes!

Only, it wasn't flowers. And it was on fire.

Ah, the difference between boys and girls...

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[JohnMitchell 16]

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I can't believe a 49 year old woman would be that scared to answer her door! It's not like she lives out in a rural area. Gee, I hope in 4 years I don't turn into such a worthless moron. Besides, never answer the door without your trusty .44 on your hip!

Actually, the article stated that it was a rural area south of Durango, CO. If this woman is serious about her hysteria, she is woefully unsuited for life around other humans. A nighttime knock on the door is not rare or unreasonable. She needs to learn to handle it.

I did think it was surprising that she did not call the sheriff. It takes a real moron to not call 911, but instead go outside, in the dark, to her sister's house. Your locked house, a call to the cops, and a nice firearm are your best protections.

Did you notice the comment about her thinking it might have been "neighbors she had tangled with in the past." She sounds like a real Karma magnet. I can't imagine her having a problem with relating to other people. I bet there are a few more neighbors that dislike her now.

If I lived close to her, I'd be sneaking over all the time to ring her door bell and run away. Juvenile? Yes. Fun? Oh yeah!

[ChileRelleno 0]

Chile just shakes head in utter sadness for the depth of depravity to which our courts have fallen and runs to another forum...

ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

[PalletMan 0]

I found this update to the story. There is some interesting info in there. Fine paid for by local radio station drive and Young is suffering some repercussions from the town. But, in this article, she doesn't seem quite the evil bitch as she orginally did. Lawyers got involved early (lawyers advised girls not to apologize in person (and it's interesting at the end where Young said all she wanted was an in-person apology)).

Source

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The Durango Herald

February 5, 2005

Friendly gesture ends in court

By George Lurie
Herald Staff Writer

Two Durango teens, whose late-night delivery of cookies to a frightened neighbor resulted in a $930 court judgment against them this week, won't have to dig into their own pockets to pay the fine.

<>
Wanita Renea Young won a $930 judgment against two girls who left cookies on her front porch July 31. Young says the incident gave her an anxiety attack, which required hospital care. "Fifteen years ago, I was assaulted by one of my neighbors as I was taking my children to meet the school bus, and I wondered if somehow the incident was connected to that," she said.

<>
Taylor Ostergaard, left, and Lindsey Zellitti display cookies on Thursday similar to ones the two made last summer for their neighbors near Durango. Ostergaard says " ... we were only trying to do something nice. There was no malicious intent whatsoever."

Denver radio station KOA-AM raised more than $1,900 from listeners Friday to pay the girls' $930.78 fine. The remaining sum will go to a charity dedicated to victims of the Columbine High School massacre.

As the radio station raised the money, Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey Zellitti, both 18, flew to New York City to tape a segment about the cookie caper for ABC's "Good Morning America." But not before the father of one of the girls filed a restraining order against the husband of the litigious neighbor.

On Thursday, Ostergaard and Zellitti found themselves in small claims court and on the losing side of a decision by La Plata County Magistrate Doug Walker.

Ostergaard, a senior at Durango High School, and Zellitti, a freshman at Colby College in Kansas, were ordered to pay $930.78 to Wanita Renea Young. The judgment stems from a July 31 incident that began when the two girls decided to skip a local teen dance and bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies, which they then left - together with anonymous notes - on the doorsteps of nine of their rural neighbors.

"An innocent gesture by two young ladies to be kind to their neighbors has turned into a real circus," said Richard Ostergaard, Taylor's father.

Richard Ostergaard successfully filed a restraining order against Young's husband, Herb, on Friday afternoon in county court, claiming he continues to make harassing telephone calls to the Ostergaard residence.

Wanita Young, 49, is a cashier at Wal-Mart and has been director of the Durango Food Bank since 1990. She lives off of County Road 214 in a rural area on the mesa south of Durango and was in the basement of her house watching television with her 86-year-old mother and 19-year-old daughter about 10:20 p.m. when the incident took place.

"We heard this horrible banging on the door, like someone was trying to break it down," Young said Friday. "I ran upstairs and called out 'Who's there?' three or four times. But no one answered me and when I looked out the window, there weren't any vehicles in sight. But I could see the silhouette of someone on the other side of the window. I got really scared and called the sheriff's department."

According to documents filed with the court, the girls had parked about 500 feet away from Young's home, shielding their car behind a grove of trees.

A statement by Taylor Ostergaard included in court documents said the girls "knocked on the door three times loudly, left the plate of cookies on the step and ran away. (We) wanted someone to hear the door and find the cookies so an animal wouldn't eat them before morning."

Three La Plata County sheriff's deputies, who arrived at Young's home shortly before 11 p.m., discovered the cookies and a note scribbled on red, heart-shaped construction paper reading: "Have a great night. Love, The T and L Club."

The initials, unbeknownst to Young, stood for Taylor and Lindsey.

"I had no idea what the note meant," Young said. "Fifteen years ago, I was assaulted by one of my neighbors as I was taking my children to meet the school bus, and I wondered if somehow the incident was connected to that.

"After the deputies looked around, they weren't sure what had gone on and said that it might be a good idea if I took my mother and daughter and stayed in a motel that night," Young said. "My husband was out of town, so I decided to spend the night in Farmington at my sister's house. Driving down there, I was throwing up and feeling a lot of pressure in my chest. I thought I might be having a heart attack."

The next morning, Young went to the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center, incurring more than $1,400 in hospital bills for what doctors eventually diagnosed as an anxiety attack.

Several days later, Young found out who had left the cookies on her doorstep while speaking on the telephone with Taylor Ostergaard's mother, Jill Ostergaard, who offered to pay for expenses related to the incident not covered by Young's health insurance plan.

The girls also wrote a note of apology to Young, but on the advice of an attorney, they opted not to meet with her in person.

Several weeks later, the Taylors and Ostergaards sent Young an attorney-authored agreement outlining their intention to pay Young and releasing the two families from any further financial liability related to the incident.

But Young was advised not to sign the document and took the girls to small claims court - where a decision Thursday resulted in a victory for Young and national attention for the two teenagers.

Lindsey Zellitti was not available for comment Friday but her mother, Martha, said: "We have no qualms against the judge or Mrs. Young. Obviously, this thing snowballed out of control. These kids were just trying to do an act of kindness."

Martha Zellitti said her daughter planned to return to college after her trip to New York, adding that the teens had decided to decline a request to appear on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Taylor Ostergaard said Friday she and Lindsey had no idea of Young's troubled history with other neighbors.

"When I found out she had been assaulted, it did change my perspective and the way I looked at what we did," Ostergaard said. "But we were only trying to do something nice. There was no malicious intent whatsoever."

"This has turned into quite a fiasco," Young said. "It's something that never should have happened and it's just devastating. My phone hasn't stopped ringing. My life has been threatened and I'll probably have to move out of town.

"All I wanted was for those girls to admit that they used poor judgment and apologize in person. If they had done that, I wouldn't have even asked for the money. I just hope they learned a lesson."

Herald Editorial Assistant Lisa Meerts-Brandsma contributed to this report. Reach Staff Writer George Lurie here .

Sky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft.

[dorbie 0]

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"This has turned into quite a fiasco," Young said. "It's something that never should have happened and it's just devastating. My phone hasn't stopped ringing. My life has been threatened and I'll probably have to move out of town.

Cry me a river bitch.

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"All I wanted was for those girls to admit that they used poor judgment and apologize in person. If they had done that, I wouldn't have even asked for the money. I just hope they learned a lesson."

I hope she learned a lesson, she's the one who needed it.

Geeze her earlier assault doesn't justify dragging these kids through court, especially after a written apology and knowledge of the circumstances. The presumption throughout is that an apology was needed, it wasn't, it was merely being extracted under duress. The kids aren't responsible for her mental disorder.

Two wrongs don't make a right and sometimes shit happens, now she has to deal with the consequences of her own actions which are far more antisocial than anything the girls did.