the Chamberlain Family: famous for not suing
Just yesterday at Blawg Review #34, Phosita’s Doug Sorocco revealed that
“David Giacalone never ceases to amaze me with the stories he
finds, and this is a gem.” In a Comment to Doug’s post, I confided that
most of my stories are just picked from the news here in New York’s
Capital Region.
Well, from that very source, comes a story that has gone national,
because it seems too amazing to be true: Sarah and Mary Chamberlain were
injured (including a cut on Sarah’s her head needing nine stitches
and a chipped tooth) by a giant M&M balloon during Macy’s Thanks-
case, two deep-pockets defendants, and the Mayor Bloomberg’s
dad, Stephen Chamberlain, has stated that he does not plan to sue
Macy’s or New York City. According to the Albany[NY] Times Union,
Mr. Chamberlain (staff director for the New York State Public Employees
Federation) stated:
“It was an accident,” . . . The close-knit family feels extremely
lucky, he said. “Looking to profit from something like this” borders
on dishonesty, Chamberlain said.
Asked whether they should sue, Suzanne Chamberlain, mother of Sarah and
her bruised older sister Mary, added “What for? They’re OK. And that’s
the most important thing”. Albany Times Union, “Sisters cope with their
accidental fame,” Nov. 26, 2005; NYNewsDay, “They still love a parade,” Nov. 25,
2005; via Overlawyered.com
Their refreshing and surprising lack of litigiousness has garnered
the family more publicity and plaudits than they could have ever imagined.
Macy’s treated the family to a performance of the Rockettes and promised
reserved bleacher seats for next year’s parade. Many tv shows and news-
papers have wanted interviews. And, Sarah got her wish — to be on the
Ellen DeGeneres Show, which airs today, Nov. 29th, on CBS, at
4 PM EST. (WRGB.com, “More exposure of Chamberlain sisters,” Nov. 29,
2005) Meanwhile Walter Olson’s weblog fans seem a bit incredulous, but
would like to nominate the Chamerlains for sainthood.
If the Chamberlains start a trend, there will be
more p/i lawyers being laid off (see RiskProf, “Hey,
Whaddaya Know?,” Nov. 29, 2005) Of course, attitudes
like this are even more likely to lead to associates
losing their jobs.
instant update (Nov. 29, 4 PM): A pointer at Overlawyered just led me to a very
good column by NY Daily News columnist Michael Daly: Greed Didn’t Suit Him
(Nov. 27, 2005). Daly invites us to compare Stephen Daly’s attitude to an
“. . advertisement in the lead car of an uptown No. 2 train
that rumbled directly underfoot yesterday morning.
“Accidents happen. And when they do … INJURYLAWYER.COM …
1-800-LAW-KING … Recent settlements: $10 million, $6.25 million,
$2.5 million, $2million*
Daly advises: “The father’s words should be inscribed on a plaque and affixed to the
base of the pole, memorializing a place in the city where a mishap occurred and nobody
went to court.”
a y
w
a
s
w
o
l
b
birthday balloons the one that doesn’t burst
fierce wind
street sweeper has
another coffee
statues in the square
the raised hand of the war hero
fills with snow
the anger from work
in my son’s birthday balloons
the gull with one leg soaring
George Swede from
in the freezer,
three starter snowmen –
cloudless sky
The the Chamberlain Family: famous for not suing by David Giacalone, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.