The True Stella Awards: Honoring real cases of greedy opportunists, frivolous lawsuits, and the law run amok

Named for Stella Liebeck—the woman who spilled hot McDonald’s coffee on herself and then won a lawsuit against the fast-food chain—humorist Randy Cassingham’s popular Web site chronicles the hard-to-believe and amusing claims that have been brought before U.S. courts.

Now, for the first time in book form, The True Stella Awards presents some of the most outlandish and unbelievable-but-true lawsuits in America. Some of the Stella Award cases include:

-The man who legally changed his name to Jack Ass, and then sued MTV for $50 million because their TV show and movie Jackass infringed on his trademark and demeaned his "good name"
-The songwriter who left a minute’s silence on his record only to be sued by the estate of another songwriter who copyrighted his own "silent" song
-The man who sued an amusement park after being the victim of the ultimate "Act of God": he was hit by lightning while standing next to his own car in the parking lot.