Judge Doug Walker of Durango Awards Wanita Renea Young Damages for Self-Induced Panic Attack

Story dated 04 February 2005

This is actually late-breaking news from last week; and I don't update my web log on the weekend as a matter of general policy. Here's the story. Two community-minded girls decided to bake cookie for their neighbors. They would go around at night to neighbor's houses who had lights on and knock on the door, and steal away before the door opened, leaving a plate of cookies and a kind note. Well, one of their neighbors is an uncharitable soul whose chief purpose in life, apparently, is to find people to blame her self-inflicted problems on. This odious woman has been talked about on other blogs, and I cannot repeat much of that sort of language here (neither can you; use of such language will get your posts banned. Netiquette applies.) I think it is important that she be identified. If she is really okay with what she did, then she shouldn't mind her name becoming a household word. If you have a nasty neighbor, you could be living next to a 'Wanita Young'. I am annoyed that Judge Doug Walker ruled in favor of Wanita Young; she couldn't have gotten a judgment against the girls without him as an accomplice. Fortunately, it doesn't appear that the judge wanted to rule against the girls as he "declined. . . to award punitive damages, saying he did not believe the girls acted maliciously." He was probably bound by some precedent or other(of course, that still doesn't make it right). Despite the late hour (around 10pm), Wanita Young's lights were on and there were no 'No Trespassing' signs. I really don't think she had a case at all. It's rulings like this, Judge Walker, that encourage everyone to sue for anything.

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 7:11 PM

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