It's Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of Halloween, here are some spooky cases that will send shivers down your spine...

Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254
Mrs. Ackley owned a fabulous - and haunted - waterfront Victorian home. Not one to be undone by the presence of poltergeists, Mrs. Ackley told her friends, her neighbors, the media, and anyone who would listen that her house was haunted. The one person she did not tell was Mr. Stambovsky, the man who eventually bought her home. Upon discovering that he would be sharing the house with the dearly departed, he sued to rescind the contract. The court found that Mrs. Ackley's promotion of paranormal phenomenon required her to disclose the supernatural activity to the buyer. So, if you see a spook and shout it out, who you gonna call?
The buyer!

Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson, 983 F.2d 1066
Mr. and Mrs. Ferlito attended a costume party in homemade Halloween costumes. Mrs. Ferlito was the lovely Bo Peep and Mr. Ferlito was her lost little sheep. Tragedy ensued when Mr. Ferlito caught on fire after he lit a cigarette. The Ferlitos sued Johnson and Johnson on the ground that the cotton gauze used for the sheep costume was flamable; however, the court held for Johnson & Johnson based on the fact that the Ferlitos know that there was a flame hazard and that Mr. Ferlito was not paying attention when he lit the cigarette. Beware of smoking sheep...

Baribeau v. City of Minneapolis, 596 F.3d 465
Do zombies have constitutional rights? Sometimes. In Baribeau, a group of citizens contracted the disease of "mindless consumerism", causing them to turn into zombified versions of themselves. While the traditional method of dispatching zombies can be witnessed in several films (e.g. Dawn of the Dead and Zombieland), in Minneapolis the police opted for arrest and incarceration on the charge of disorderly conduct. The zombies brought suit, and the court found that the zombies were engaging in expressive conduct that did not give the police probable cause under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue. So if you contract a zombie virus and you live in Minnesota, the police have to have probable cause before they arrest you....

Contribution by Miss Endia Sowers and Adrienne DeWitt