DURANGO, Colorado (AP) -- Two teenage girls who surprised their neighbors with homemade cookies late one night were ordered to pay nearly $900 in medical bills for a woman who says she was so startled that she had to go to the hospital.
Judge Doug Walker declined Thursday to award punitive damages, saying he did not believe the girls acted maliciously.
Taylor Ostergaard, 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti, 18, baked the chocolate chip and sugar cookies one night last July. They made packages with a half-dozen cookies each and added large red or pink construction-paper hearts that carried the message, "Have a great night." The notes were signed with their first initials: "Love, The T and L Club." Then they set off to make their deliveries.
Wanita Renea Young, 49, said she was at her rural home south of Durango around 10:30 p.m. when she said saw "shadowy figures" outside the house banging repeatedly on her door. She yelled, "Who's there?" but no one answered, and the figures ran away. Frightened, she spent the night at her sister's home, then went to the hospital the next morning because she was still shaking and had an upset stomach.
The teenagers' families offered to pay Young's medical bills, but she declined and sued, saying their apologies were not sincere and were not offered in person. The girls declined comment after the ruling. Taylor's mother said the girl "cried and cried." "She felt she was being punished for doing something nice," Jill Ostergaard said.
Young said the teenagers showed "very poor judgment" "The victory wasn't sweet," Young said. "I'm not gloating about it. I just hope the girls learned a lesson."
The teens said they did not answer when the woman called out because they wanted the treats to be a surprise.
People are pretty quick to criticize teenagers when they get in trouble, and after dealing with PATs in the retail area, I'm usually the first to diss them. But here we have two teenage girls who decided to stay home, instead of going out to a dance where the is always the possibility of trouble, and bake cookies to give to their neighbors. And now some old biddy sues the poor girls. I bet she probably scours the aisles in stores for the "caution: wet floor" signsjust so she can fake a fall and try to sue thestore. I'd even bet her old man has jumped on the lawsuit bandwagon and sued the poor girls saying that his wife can't perform her wifely duties as a result of the anxiety attack brought on by the plate of cookies.
Another article in the Durango Herald said that the other eight sets of neighbors that received plates of cookies were just delighted that the girls thought enough of them to stay home on a Friday night and bake cookies for them. They all said that Taylor and Lindsey were good girls. I'm sure they are.
The article in the Herald also said that Taylor's father had taken out a restraining order against Young's husband, ordering him to stop making harassing phone calls to them. Now correct me if I'm wrong - but doesn't something seem a bit odd, here? This woman and her husband are home, she hears a knock at the door and answers it and doesn't see anyone there, yet she's scared to death and doesn't stay there with her HUSBAND WHO IS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIS WIFE and instead goes to her sister's for the night?
I think it's a safe bet that the Young family won't be getting any baked goods from their neighbors for a long, long time.
2 comments:
this one is just too funny for words.....................I'ld bake her something!
I'd be baking the witch some ExLax brownies.
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