Frivolous lawsuit or justice?

[Dude]

Jury awards father $11M in funeral case

BALTIMORE - A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.
Snyder's attorney, Craig Trebilcock, had urged jurors to determine an amount "that says don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/funeral_protests

Here is my take. Yes, it is frivoulous. But, it is sickening that these "church" folks can get away with dishonoring someone who fights for their freedom. These people that picketed those funerals aren't christians, they are barbarians who are brainwashed by a cult. Good for Mr. Snyder, and I hope this permanently stops these stupid demonstrations in EVERY state.

Discuss.

 

[Ryanh1801]

I was just about to post this, Im glad he won. Im so sick of these people. (Nicest possible way I can put it.)

 

[Whiskey]

No more frivolous then the fat slob who sued McDonald's for making her fat or the complete idiot who sued McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on him(or her?) self.... It's the nature of civil lawsuits.

Now is $11M a bit much probably, but like all civil cases, it was the $ amount that would make Mr Synder "whole", I'm glad for him. Those sorry pieces of crap can all catch fire and die for all I care. I'm all for freedom of speech, but damn, there has to be a line somewhere, go protest the war all you want, dance naked in front of the capitol building burning flags if that's what floats your boat, but to blatantly disrespect those fallen soldiers and their families warrants some time rotting in hell.

/rant off

EDIT: Edit for language, and made it a bit more forum friendly.

 

[rdwj]

I'm for freedom of speech, so I'm against the decision. I am, however, in favor of allowing the family of the soldier to gather a posse and "remove" the problem.

That's one thing the world is missing today. People are so protected, nobody fears a major ass kickin'

 

[Tenchiro]

I would rather see the police allow the fallen soldiers buddies to stomp a size 12 mudhole in each protester.

 

[Beerrific]

I am a big supporter of freedom of speech. While you are free to say or do as you please, you must be willing to face the consequences of your words and actions.

I am glad they were not prosecuted criminally. I think that something had to be done to stop them. This will probably set the ground for future families filing restraining orders since they have a history of "invading privacy" and causing "emotional distress."

 

[FlyGuy]

That's not frivolous. The loss of your son would be bad enough, but to have some misguided, hypocritical zealots destroy your only chance for closure -- that's lifetime damage warranting compensation. Good for them!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

That's not frivolous at all.

In the US, you can like or dislike the military all you want for any reason you choose, and you can voice those opinions all you want. You can burn our flag, make giant signs announcing your position, and organize large gatherings to back your cause and garner attention. However, you CANNOT do any of those things in an offensive manner or a manner that's likely to cause physical or emotional harm to others.

I'm glad someone finally won a large claim against this particular group of people. They claim to be a church, but their ideals and methods are quite questionable and often predatory. Google them, or visit their website, www.godhatesfags.com (seriously, that's really their website).

 

[Ryanh1801]

Reminds me of this poem.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Wow, I just saw this picture, taken at a similar funeral demonstration in California by the same church:

You can support or protest the war to your heart's content, and that's perfectly ok with me. It's even your right according to the freedoms granted you by our nation's constitution. However, I think all but the most callous of people would take offense to something like this! Praying for the death of your own countrymen...now, that's sick. Praying for the death of your own countrymen at a funeral...I'm not sure I can fathom a word for that.

There's a growing group of people in the US whom I admire quite a bit for their maturity and poise regarding our current involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their motto goes something like this, "Support the troops, not the war." Politically, they're against our government's policies and actions, but they realize that no individual soldier is responsible for what's going on overseas. They understand that it is the soldier's job to obey the President's orders and that those orders are largely a direct result of majority votes in Congress (with notable exceptions...let's not get too far off track with the political blame game). So, rather than attacking the military, they are voicing their discontent with the government via one of our greatest freedoms, the freedom of speech.

Sorry, mods, if this thread borders on inappropriate, but I find it hard to believe we have too many members that would disagree with the fact that this picture portrays a very misguided group of people.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

That's not frivolous at all.

In the US, you can like or dislike the military all you want for any reason you choose, and you can voice those opinions all you want. You can burn our flag, make giant signs announcing your position, and organize large gatherings to back your cause and garner attention. However, you CANNOT do any of those things in an offensive manner or a manner that's likely to cause physical or emotional harm to others.

I'm glad someone finally won a large claim against this particular group of people. They claim to be a church, but their ideals and methods are quite questionable and often predatory. Google them, or visit their website, www.godhatesfags.com (seriously, that's really their website).

They came to my college once, F#cking morons. I'm a christian by tradition, but I can't stand this BS.

 

[Ryanh1801]

http://www.patriotguard.org/

 

[WOP31]

+1000 on everything you guys have said. I have been following the news stories about this "church" (and i use that word lightly), and i have tried to refrain from posting my opinion about them, as i figured that i could not do it in a way that would be tolerable by the masses. I have a pretty intense dislike (I try not to hate anyone but is hard when referring to them) for those people. I generally never wish ill will upon people, but i hope that they all burn in hell, especially the ones like the dumb B*tch in the picture that Yuri posted.

http://www.patriotguard.org/

These guys are awesome, all you guys out there with bikes should seriously think about helping out, even if you don't have a bike, I encourage everyone to sign up.


Cheers,
Petty Officer Second Class
United States Navy

Once a Squid, Always a Squid!

 

[Nurmey]

The Patriot Guard ROCKS! I can't help but start crying whenever I see them on their way to protect a grieving family.

I'm a huge believer and supporter of the Constitution, freedom of speech, and even the parts I don't personally like to support. However, I'm a mother of a soldier so my feelings toward the freaks that disrespect our fallen sons and daughters strike a part of me that is goes so much deeper than anything else. I don't think I've ever hated a group of anyone as much as I hate them. Just writing about it make me wish I had one of the protesters in the room with me just so I could pound on him/her for a while. It would be worth going to jail for.

Yes, the money win was good but if you want to see justice put some mothers of soldiers in a room with those freaks. For some reason the phrase "with extreme prejudice" comes to mind.

 

[Fingers]

I can't believe that! This is the first I've heard of anyone doing something that crass, tasteless, and insensitive. I agree with most of the comments that those people have the right to express themselves, but to praise the death of a soldier doing the bidding of the government is WAY over the top. That's just disgusting!

 

[knarfks]

Unfortunately I'm within an hour of where this group of morons comes from. I am a Christian, and I'm not afraid to say that these people are not Christians. They teach the direct opposite of what Jesus stood for.

I have grown up hearing about these people and the hate that they spread, it is sickening. The bizarre thing is that they have so much money to protest with. Who are these people who are financially supporting this crap?

Even when trying to have an honest nonconfrontational conversation with these people they just call you a fag. It is also disgusting to see these people use their small children (5 and under literally) to hold up protest signs that are more perverse than what they are preaching against.

Sorry, this is one group that makes my blood boil.

 

[Pumbaa]

There comes a point in time where the actions of others can not be tolerated and something most be done to stop their actions no matter the personal cost. If I were to run across members of this "church" I would be going to jail for a very long time

 

[Ryanh1801]

There comes a point in time where the actions of others can not be tolerated and something most be done to stop their actions no matter the personal cost. If I were to run across members of this "church" I would be going to jail for a very long time

Honestly, if they ever showed up at one of my friends funerals I would be on death row.

 

[Pumbaa]

Honestly, if they ever showed up at one of my friends funerals I would be on death row.

No death penalty here in Wisconsin

 

[Schlenkerla]

What I'd like to do to them isn't legal.

A good clubbing to the face in an effort spread there noses over their eyes is in order.

There should be special place in hell for those people.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

While I despise these people and everything they stand for, threats of violence and death are a bit over the top.

Take it easy, fellas.

 

[olllllo]

These guys are begging for someone to kill one of their "members". That would only futher their cause. Don't give in to their need for attention and provide their leaders with the fuel to continue their "movement".

 

[olllllo]

The Southern Poverty Law Center was very successful at breaking the KKK using lawsuits.

 

[Kieva]

WOW...I log in to see this...My heart is broken for the families. I guess people do not learn from history. Next thing you know they will be at airports waiting to spit on our troops just like they did to my dad. He went back for another tour just to get away from the heartless people that treated him like ****.

AND here we go again. I have already lost one friend over there.

I say make things better by buying them all airline tickets to the middle east and let them protest there.

If you haven't already, click on the link in my Sig. I think it should show everyone the right way to look at our troops.

GOD BLESS THEM ALL!!!!

 

[westerntrout]

the family has a right to their service in peace. no matter your 'war' position I hope we can all agree that the soldier who died did what they thought was right. these 'christians' as they call themself are anything but. even freedom of speech has limits and their actions went well past that limit. I think a $5 civil fine for for those who vigorously 'protest' the the wacko non christian protest would be appropriate

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/funeral_protests

Here is my take. Yes, it is frivoulous. ... Good for Mr. Snyder, and I hope this permanently stops these stupid demonstrations in EVERY state.

Discuss.

So your take is that it's frivolous, but serves a purpose. Well, if it serves a purpose, then it's not frivolous. The thing is most people like lawsuits when they agree with the outcomes- it's just all the others suits that they dismiss as "frivolous".

I really don't see how people can defend peoples' freedom of speech and then decry their free and open access to the courts. I mean, aren't both rights, fundamentally, about the right to be heard in an open forum? It's our government at work. Let the courts listen to the wackos. That's what they're there for. :shrug:

 

[Sherpa FE]

No more frivolous then the fat slob who sued McDonald's for making her fat or the complete idiot who sued McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on him(or her?) self.... It's the nature of civil lawsuits.

Now is $11M a bit much probably, but like all civil cases, it was the $ amount that would make Mr Synder "whole", I'm glad for him. Those sorry pieces of crap can all catch fire and die for all I care. I'm all for freedom of speech, but damn, there has to be a line somewhere, go protest the war all you want, dance naked in front of the capitol building burning flags if that's what floats your boat, but to blatantly disrespect those fallen soldiers and their families warrants some time rotting in hell.

/rant off

EDIT: Edit for language, and made it a bit more forum friendly.

She got EVERYTHING she deserved for that lawsuit with McDondalds.
If you like, I can fill you in on the details.

 

[Whiskey]

She got EVERYTHING she deserved for that lawsuit with McDondalds.
If you like, I can fill you in on the details.

I completely disagree and I am quite familiar with the case. Was McDonald's wrong for not being more forth coming about the fat content? Probably.

However, Ronald McDonald did not force that girl's family to eat at McDonald's 3 times a day or to sit around and not exercise. That would be like me suing Samuel Smiths for making good beer, man it tastes so good, but it makes me drunk, I'm going to sue because the bottles do not state that I will get drunk if I continue to drink them.

 

[Aiko]

Wow, I just saw this picture, taken at a similar funeral demonstration in California by the same church:

She is kinda cute! Wonder how EdWorts Aplewine would work on her????

 

[El_Borracho]

I think it would be hilarious if those people protesting were right. About us being at war because of homosexuals...truth is we're at war because it pays to be at war. I just like comedy. Seriously, almost election time were about to go into Iran. We have a woman, and a black man running and the thrid option would be the guy from ny. Buckle up, I hope you like the Yankees.

I'm pretty oblivious to politics. I do what I like, I like what I do. I have a reason for somethings, and not having a reason is enough for me for others. I support a lot of libertarian rights, but I'm not a deb, rep, or lib..i'm worried..for my kids, for my future.

/stocking up on pre-ban AR15's...
//...from my cold dead hands.
///working from home, drinking on the job..

 

[JnJ]

I've been there when these yahoos have protested. I support the desision 100% I hope he gets to take over their "church" and burns it to the ground.

 

[rohanski]

I find it amazing how a lot of religous people hide their hate behind religion. In my experience I don't trust anyone that has to tell me they are a christian when I never asked.

 

[Whiskey]

Worse then that are the folks who spontaneously state "I'm a good Christian" when you are arguing with them or they have done something wrong.

 

[cubbies]

I think it is justice. Besides the fact that I think it is fair punishment, it seems to me that the court ordered the amount of $. It didnt sound like the guy was sueing for 11 million, it sounded like he was sueing and the jury awarded that penalty. That would certainly not make it frivolous.

And I am sorry Yuri, if I ever came into contact with one of those whackos, especially at a friend or family members funeral, they would be getting beat. There is no two ways about it.

 

[srm775]

Here is my take. Yes, it is frivoulous.

It's only frivoulous when it's not your child that's being buried. I'm pretty certain that Mr. Snyder, as well as myself, believe that the lawsuit is completely justified.

But, it is sickening that these "church" folks can get away with dishonoring someone who fights for their freedom. These people that picketed those funerals aren't christians, they are barbarians who are brainwashed by a cult. Good for Mr. Snyder, and I hope this permanently stops these stupid demonstrations in EVERY state.

To go one step further, I hope that the whole group dies covered in syphilitic sores.

 

[Evan!]

Worse then that are the folks who spontaneously state "I'm a good Christian" when you are arguing with them or they have done something wrong.

Yeah, what he said. There have been good christians and there have been bad christians. A christian could cherry-pick parts of the bible to lead a peaceful, loving life...or a christian could cherry-pick other parts of the bible to justify stoning their only child to death for daring to disrespect their parents. There is nothing inherently good or evil about christians, and the number of "these guys aren't true christians" comments (as if anyone knows exactly what a true christian is supposed to be like) is alarming and depressing. Hell, for all we know, these "cultists" could be more perfect christians than the pope...and unless someone has a direct hotline to god her/him/itself, I don't see how that can be refuted or proven, either way. But regardless, it doesn't surprise me that these guys are claiming to be christian any more then it surprises me that Phelps has brown hair...less perhaps, considering how certain passages in the bible are commonly used to justify hatred and evil.

Anyway, regardless of the religious aspect, these crackpots are scary. I've seen interviews with Phelps and his daughters, and they're very calm and normal-seeming people in their everyday lives. They don't run around the house screaming "KILL THE FAGS" or anything like that...which, to me, makes their whole "church" all the more terrifying. These people are truly scum.

But here's the thing: they feed off of the media coverage. Nobody would know who Fred Phelps was if it weren't for our obsession with these crazy bastards. I'm sure they don't have 11 million bucks to fork over, so this will probably do nothing but give them more attention that they don't need.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

And I am sorry Yuri, if I ever came into contact with one of those whackos, especially at a friend or family members funeral, they would be getting beat. There is no two ways about it.

Hey, I'm just trying to protect you (and this thread from being closed). This particular group thrives on negative attention. If they happen to be able to tie your name to a threat, you will likely have an ugly lawsuit on your hands. Because you made the threat, you would lose, and they would tout their win as some sort of moral victory. Now, if you made good on your threat, I'm sure it would feel good to win the fistfight. However, it would just garner more attention for these people, and they'd start whining about religious oppression. And you'd still find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit/criminal case that you'd lose. It makes me mad, too. These are some of the reasons that Phelps and his "church" still exist - they are very good at twisting any situation into something that "benefits" them. That's why this $11M win is such a sweet victory.

 

[Whiskey]

Hey, I'm just trying to protect you (and this thread from being closed). This particular group thrives on negative attention. If they happen to be able to tie your name to a threat, you will likely have an ugly lawsuit on your hands. Because you made the threat, you would lose, and they would tout their win as some sort of moral victory. Now, if you made good on your threat, I'm sure it would feel good to win the fistfight. However, it would just garner more attention for these people, and they'd start whining about religious oppression. And you'd still find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit/criminal case that you'd lose. It makes me mad, too. These are some of the reasons that Phelps and his "church" still exist - they are very good at twisting any situation into something that "benefits" them. That's why this $11M win is such a sweet victory.

I'd have to agree with that, it's why I leaned more towards them spontaneously combusting. Wouldn't that be a sight, news camera slowing panning across these ass-hats screaming their moronic rhetoric and POOF!! they suddenly burst into flames. I wonder if anyone would take the time to piss on them?

As much as I would like to give these folks some Louisville slugger time, it would just further their cause. So please, if there is a God above, let's see some of that Old Testament smiting.

 

[DeathBrewer]

F%&K the Westboro Baptist Church.

They can DIAF and I'll dance around the flames.

I think they're full of bullsh!t anyway, they seem to try to offend people just so they can get beat and end up sueing the people they're harrassing. not sure if I would have condoned this court decision in other circumstances, but i'm glad they got screwed on this one.

 

[Alamo_Beer]

Old Testament smiting.

Haha that would be a good name for a beer :rockin:

Yeah I'll have to agree that these folks are F'ed up! And I totaly agree with the "Support the troops but stop the war" sentiment