Contact: Adrienne ("Andy") Kotner
President
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
1761 Hotel Circle South, Suite 120
San Diego, California 92108-3318
Tel: (619) 295-6059
Fax: (619) 295-6710
E-mail: sdcala@adnc.com

San Diego, CA -- Just in time for Thanksgiving, San Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is highlighting some of America’s greatest lawsuit turkeys — food related lawsuits that are sure to give American’s a bellyache.

"It seems that these days, outrageous lawsuits are becoming as uniquely American as Thanksgiving," commented CALA President, Andy Kotner. "We love our Thanksgiving turkey, but apparently we love lawsuits more. Unfortunately, as these lawsuits show, some creative personal injury lawyers have found a way to combine the two."

Super size that lawsuit -- A 5'10" 270 pound man is suing four fast food restaurants for not adequately disclosing the contents of their food. He claims that he became addicted to fast food and didn’t know that eating fast food 4-5 days a week was bad for him. He is part of a class action that some have said "gives frivolous a bad name."

Pop goes the lawsuit -- A New Jersey couple sued the Kellogg Company after an unattended Pop Tart caught fire in a toaster and burned their house down. The couple sought $100,000 in damages. The company reassured customers that "Pop-Tarts are safe and do not cause fires."

"Waisting" the court’s time -- A lawyer filed suit against McDonald's, blaming the burger-maker for his clients' obesity. Two teenage girls, who weigh a combined 440 pounds, claim they did not know a McMuffin in the morning and Big Mac and apple pie in the evening would add to their girth. The company's lawyers have asked that the suit be thrown out, saying this matter is "about common sense and individual responsibility."

Cuckoo for cocoa suits – In a sweet deal for personal injury lawyers, multiple chocolate makers were sued on the grounds that they violated California’s Proposition 65, which mandates that warnings be posted to alert the public to the presence of carcinogens. According to the lawyers, chocolate should carry warnings because it contains lead and cadmium. Of course, chocolate contains these ingredients in only trace amounts and the ingredients are present in virtually all foods.

Legal system in a pickle? -- A woman sued McDonalds for $125,000 for an "unreasonably dangerous" pickle that burnt her chin when it fell out of her burger bun. Her husband sued for $15,000 for loss of the "services and consortium of his wife." Now that's an Un-Happy Meal!

"Frivolous lawsuits are one American tradition we can do without. When our courts are stuffed with frivolous lawsuits, real; victims with real injuries lose their right to swift justice," Kotner said.

CALA is inviting consumers to register their vote for the worst lawsuit "turkey" by logging on to www.stopclassactionabuse.com.

CALA is a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to educating consumers on the human and financial costs incurred when the legal system is abused for improper purposes such as greed, harassment or publicity. More than 8,200 San Diego County residents are CALA supporters.