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In case you were concerned that Americans were becoming less litigious these days, a convicted robber is trying to sue a party store after he was shot in the arm while burglarizing it. Scott Thomas Zeilinski is serving an eight-to-22-year sentence for robbing Nick's Party Store in Clinton Township, Mich., in 2007. Court records show that he entered the store and put a knife to the throats of several clerks, threatening to kill them.
Then, still making threats as he exited with stolen money and cigarettes, Zeilinski was shot in the arm and back by an employee who had grabbed a gun.
The burglar's lawyer filed a suit against the party store this week, seeking over $125,000 for pain and suffering and emotional distress. Following in the tradition of landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson, we hope the Supreme Court soon metes out justice in the case of Zeilinski v. Nick's Party Store.
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Comments:
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Tuesday 01 September
By Rufus McDufus
The judge should have thrown out the case if anything to save Americans the humiliation of their ridiculous legal system. Perhaps the store owner should contersue the judge involved for stress caused by letting this charade take place. Perhaps I should sue all of them for distressing me with their display of human stupidity.
Reply
Wednesday 02 September
By GenBob
Amen Rufus! Our legal system is so broken I believe it may be beyond repair.
Wednesday 02 September
By Paula
I am beginning to belive that the lawyers who bring such frivolous suits should be officially warned and if they continue to do it, should then be disbarred. Just because you CAN sue doesn't mean you should.
Wednesday 02 September
By Tom
I have never done this previously but after reading your posting, I had to write to compliment you. You started my day off with such a great laugh. Maybe we should get a class action suit going against the judge, etc.
Have a great day.
Wednesday 02 September
By Tracy
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Wednesday 02 September
By maximum joe
They should take him outside and beat him every day for the rest of his sentence... You don't sue for getting shot while trying to rob a place... Give me $20.00 (for the shirt I will have to replace) and I'll take care of this guy for you.
Wednesday 02 September
By JR
Lawyers who file frivolous suits ARE subject to sanctions and disbarment. It's called Rule 11 of Civil Procedure.
The ONLY reason why this case was not dismissed, is that contrary to some people's understanding, the law values life and limb over money. Thus a fleeing criminal with your money cannot be legally shot from behind after leaving a place he robbed.
The clerk is lucky the local attorney general OPTED not to file criminal charges.
That said, lawyers and judges know the value of a case. This will NEVER go to court, the robber will NEVER collect this money, it will be settled for a small fraction of this, or be dismissed in due time.
Wednesday 02 September
By violet
No wonder America and all the business's are bankrupt Stupid lawyers! Those who do wrong should be punished not rewarded
Wednesday 02 September
By Kristen
@JR:
He didn't just come in, walk up, take money, and walk out....he HELD A KNIFE TO THEIR THROAT. So yea...life and limb over money.
Wednesday 02 September
By cjp
THANK YOU!
Wednesday 02 September
By Smitty
I have seen this before In Texas where I live. Texas is very conservative, also many people are able to carry handguns. I believe the response has shown up in the number deaths during robberies and assaults. I have even heard the police applaud vigilanty response, in some cases by illegal aliens, with illegal handguns. I have heard of one alien who defended himself in an attempted carjacking, crippled the man, and was sued for support. He lost the case because he couldn't afford a lawyer, and fled the state. It seems that many of the bad guys are causing a more harsh response which may include death. Some of these are obviously mentally Ill, but what about the lawers and judges who seem to take them seriously? Vigilanty justice is definately on the increase, along with that more people are arming themselves, and more often people in a rage find handguns all too handy. We seem to be prisoners of our own selfish rights. Just an observation.
Wednesday 02 September
By ro
amen
Wednesday 02 September
By Falcon
I'm a big fan of the old saying "the best defense is a good offense". In this case, the victims of the robbery (who, according to the story, were threatened by a knife)and everyone else in the store at the time of the incident should countersue this guy for assault and severe emotional distress, including punitive damages. And, for good measure, they should also sue this guy and his attorney under RICO for being parties to a racketeering conspiracy, a part of which is the filing of the lawsuit (this would also involve looking into some of the other lawsuits the attorney has filed). The latter charge may not hold up, but it has more merit than the main lawsuit, and it puts the lawyer under the gun, which is where he/she should be.
Wednesday 02 September
By Rob
Amen, brother.
Wednesday 02 September
By Dudley Haas
This criminal has rights. It's the american way and my bald head is proof that I'm a good american. He should be able to burglarize a store without being treated badly. I am glad we have a legal system that works for us. Sha na na na na let's live for today!!!
Wednesday 02 September
By David
What I think should happen is the judge adds 5 years to his sentence for everyone in the store that sues him for distress and 10 years for everyone he held the knife to. AND if any thing is grantted to this piece of crap, it should be divided between HIS victims.
Wednesday 02 September
By Paul
Actually, the ruling of Plessy v Ferguson brought us "Separate but Equal," one of the most unjust rulings in Supreme Court history. It was undone by Brown v Topeka about 60 years later.
I'm hoping that the courts don't rule in this case as badly as they did in Plessy.
Reply
Wednesday 02 September
By don
What was wrong with Plessy v. Ferguson? Seperate but equal? Not a bad idea, given that most blacks would like to be just that. The most racist group might very well be the blacks. Black only scholarships, magazines, Oprahs support of only Black businesses, Black on colleges, and the list goes on. Blacks would erecieve a better education of taught by educated blacks then white SAT thinking white professors.
Wednesday 02 September
By webb57
Thanks, Paul, you saved me the trouble of saying exactly what you said about Plessy v. Ferguson. And Don--you're a racist and a complete imbecile.
Wednesday 02 September
By Catherine
I agree that the cases cited in the article are inappropriate here, not because they're good or bad (depending upon your politics or philosophical bent), but because they just have nothing to do with somebody being shot while committing a crime. Totally off-topic and wholly irrelevant to this situation.