the pleasure nattion

[marika]

more offerings from Oakland

Kincaids's

Oysters from Hog Island somewhere on the west coast.

They add champagne.
I like the salty ones better but this was kinda interesting

--

------------------------------------------------------------Â------------
True Stella Awards #58: 31 January 2005 www.StellaAwards.com
------------------------------------------------------------Â------------

The TRUE Stella Awards -- 2004 Winners
by Randy Cassingham
Issued 31 January 2004

Unlike the FAKE cases that have been highly circulated onl for the
last several years (see http://www.StellaAwards.com/bogus.html for
details), the following cases have been researched from publ sources
and are confirmed TRUE by the ONLY legitimate source for theÂStella
Awards: www.StellaAwards.com . To confirm this copy is legitimate, see
http://www.StellaAwards.com/2004.html
You may forward this issue, so long as you send it in its Â.
MEDIA OUTLETS: See http://www.thisistrue.com/2004.html *BEFORE* running
the awards! (That page will have any updates and corrections too.)

-v-

#6: The Tribune Co. of Chicago, Ill. The newspaper chain own several
newspapers, as well as the Chicago Cubs baseball team. OneÂof its
newspaper carriers was Mark Guthrie, 43, of Connecticut. OÂ of its
ball players was Mark Guthrie, 38, of Illinois. The companÂ's payroll
department mixed the two up, putting the ballplayer's payc into
the paper carrier's bank account. The carrier allowed themÂto take
back 90 percent of the improperly paid salary, and said th could
have the rest after they gave him a full accounting to ens he not
only got his own pay, but wouldn't have any tax problems f being
paid $300,000(!) extra. The Tribune Co., rather than provi that
reasonable assurance, instead sued him for the rest of theÂmoney.

#5: "High Tech" retailer Sharper Image sells a lot of its "I­oni
Breeze"
air filters. As part of a comparative review of many air fÂ,
Consumer Reports magazine found the "Ionic" unit was the wÂ
performer. SI complained, saying it didn't do a "fair" tesÂ. CU
asked
what sort of test should be done, but SI never replied -- Â it
sued CU. A federal judge ruled the suit not only had no meÂ, but was
actually an illegal attempt to squelch public discussion. Â was
ordered to pay CU $400,000 to cover its legal defense costÂ.

#4: Edith Morgan, mother of Kansas City Chiefs football starÂDerek
Thomas, who died after being thrown from his SUV in a cras while
speeding in a snowstorm. Morgan said Thomas's neck was bro because
the SUV's roof collapsed a few inches -- not from rolling  the
highway because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt -- and sued GÂ
Motors. Her lawyer begged jurors to award more than $100 m in
damages, perhaps more -- he "did not want to put an upper  on
it." GM pointed out that Thomas's oversize SUV was exempt  federal
roof crush standards, yet it met them anyway. The jury sen a message:
of that $100 million, it awarded Morgan ...nothing.

#3: Tanisha Torres of Wyndanch, N.Y. The woman sued Radio Sh for
misspelling her town as "Crimedanch" on her cell phone bilÂ. She
didn't even ask them to change it; she just sued. "I'm notÂa
criminal," she whined. "My son plays on the high school foÂ
team." Yeah, that makes sense. The name "Crimedanch" is a ­commo
joke;
police in the area confirm it's a high-crime area. Still, Â
claimed she suffered "outrage" and "embarrassment" at havi­n
to see
that spelling on her private phone bill. The suit seeks unÂ
damages.

#2: Homecomings Financial, a subsidiary of GMAC Financial SeÂ, which
is a division of General Motors. The finance company accep a change
of address notice from identity thieves for the account be to
Robert and Suzanne Korinke. The thieves ran up a $142,000 Â, and
the Kerinkes notified Homecomings of the fraud the moment Â
discovered it. Homecomings sued them two years later, sayi the
couple's "negligence" is what "caused the injury to HomecoÂ,"
not
the fact that the company accepted a change of address fro fraudsters
-- and then gave them all the money they could drain. The  got
the company to drop the suit, which demanded $74,000 plus Â's
fees, after shelling out $5,000 in legal fees -- an outcom their
lawyer called "really lucky".

AND THE WINNER of the 2004 Stella Award: Mary Ubaudi of Madi County,
Ill. Ubaudi was a passenger in a car that got into a wreck She put
most of the blame on the deepest pocket available: Mazda MÂ, who
made the car she was riding in. Ubaudi demands "in excess  $150,000"
from the automaker, claiming it "failed to provide instrucÂ
regarding the safe and proper use of a seatbelt." One hope Mazda's
attorneys make her swear in court that she has never befor worn a
seatbelt, has never flown on an airliner, and that she's t stupid to
figure out how to fasten a seatbelt.