Dumb Lawsuits

I’ve never understood why anyone would play the lottery. Sure there’s a chance slimmer than Nicole Ritchie’s abdomen that you’ll win the grand prize, but by the time you do, you’ve already spent more than double the amount you’ve won and you’re 99 years old, which means you’ll have about five minutes to spend $10,000,000 before you die. Try explaining that to this woman who sued the lottery because she lost.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch woman who claimed she suffered emotional damages due to not winning the lottery missed the jackpot in court too.

Amsterdam District Court judges Wednesday rejected the claim of Helene de Gier, who said she was traumatized by not winning the country’s National Postcode Lottery, which she didn’t enter, while her neighbors did.

Suing the lottery for emotional distress because you didn’t win? That’s like suing the New Orleans Saints for emotional distress for not making it to the Super Bowl last year, which by the way has a better chance of winning than this turkey egg ever could.

According to the story, several members of her town won the lottery, which drew a great deal of media attention. She claims that’s an invasion of privacy. The neighbors also “rubbed” their win in their faces by buying a new Porsche which they prominently displayed on their front yard, the suit alleged. It sounds like they need their diapers changed more than a new Porsche.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit “saying that was no different in any lottery or game of chance where — after learning the result — observers know that if they had bet on the actual outcome, they would have won,” according to the story. The judge announced their decision after pulling the verdict out of a large, rotating drum.