Babies, Gaggles, Big Mustaches, And A Diabolical Motorcycle Seat
Hmm. A blog title like that can only mean one thing: more Strange Lawsuits.
Inside Counsel Magazine sends me short summaries of four unusual lawsuits every month. I sketch out an idea for each, they pick the one they like best.
A recent winner involved a pregnancy discrimination suit. A Las Vegas casino fired an employee a month before she was due to give birth. The woman claims she was fired for ending a phone conversation with a guest by saying “bye-bye” instead of “goodbye.”
A worker at an automobile plant claims he injured his shoulder when he was knocked down by a gaggle of geese. He’s suing the automaker because they “knew or should have known” of the risk of geese attacks.
JibJab, a media company known for eCards, is suing the White Castle restaurant chain. JibJab claims the burger chain’s ad campaign for its chicken rings infringes on JibJab’s “comedic Victorian Old West-themed content,” which features “old-fashioned caricatures of mustachioed men.”
A 52-year-old California man blames his motorcycle seat for a persistent, painful, and unusually prolonged erection. He claims the condition, which is known as priapism,
has left him physically aroused for the past two years. He’s suing the vehicle maker for
lost wages and emotional distress.
And here’s the original rough sketch for Babes In Courtland:
What do you think? Do you talk like a baby on the phone? Ever been knocked down and had your wallet stolen by a gaggle of geese? If a hen takes a bath, does she leave a chicken ring in the tub? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
Pennies From Heaven: Attack Of The Tweety Boids
A Blog Named Sue: More Lawsuits
You Sure Are A Lot Uglier In Person
Mark Armstrong Illustration Specializing In Content Marketing Advertising Editorial Infographics Animation Videos and Social Media 
They all sound like ‘pumped up’ stories to me….. 🙂
Love the expressions of the characters Mark; they certainly tell the story….
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Ha! Yes, pumped up, or trumped up– take your pick!
Wouldn’t it be exciting if we could all have the animated expressions of cartoon characters? Of course, we’d all wind up looking like Mick Jagger or Willie Nelson by the time we were 10 years old… : P
Thanks so much for your support, Carolyn!
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I don’t think that judge will be able to pacify the babies. They won’t hear him when he says “order in the court.” Love all the cartoons, but the one with the babies is especially adorable.
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Ha! Thanks, Judy. Yeah, good luck to the judge on that one– the poor guy’s really getting hammered! I think the babies are adorable because they were drawn by a very adorable guy– that’s my theory, anyway… : )
Sincere thanks for your jolly support!
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Well, I’ll award you an “A” for adorable and for terrific insight. 🙂
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Blush, blush, blush!!
The man with the red face thanks you. : )
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I haven’t commented on your blog for so long Mark! I do apologise for that.
Back on topic, I love the portrayal of these lawsuits, although some do sound quite absurd for such a proceeding. The expressions are captured wonderfully, and I love how the woman in the Babes In Courtland is just overwhelmed by the ‘awwness’ of the biting baby. And of course, the Judge getting hammered : p
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Nonsense! Your timing is perfect, Sabine– it’s a pleasure to welcome back the UK’s hardest-working, most talented Design & Illustration university student! Hope you’ve been having a nice summer break. : )
Many thanks for your kind comment on the latest round of courtroom mayhem. Someday I hope to get Rumpole of the Bailey in there somewhere!
Yes, there’s something about a “teething” baby that makes people gush– always assuming it’s not one’s own leg that he’s teething on, of course… : )
Great to see you, many thanks for stopping by!
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Good ones, Mark! I’ve had an inordinate number of geese bite the backs of my legs. I think I should sue them for causing my varicose veins. 😀
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Dear me! I thought you were much too fast a runner for mean ol’ geese to keep up… : )
Hm. Get a pair of shin guards like baseball catchers use and just turn them around– that would be my helpful suggestion… : P
Thanks, as always, for your support, Amelie– and watch your back!!
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Ha!! My Grandma lived amongst farmland in CT back in the day (Winsted). When I took a walk by the time I passed the goose farm, I was exhausted having run from the 2 german shepherds that would chase me (I did pretty good – only got bitten once!) After that goose bites didn’t seem so bad.
In life as an adult, I made the mistake of becoming a wild animal rehabber and thinking it was a good idea to nurse injured geese back to health. Trust me, they do NOT know the words “thank you”. 😉
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A wild animal rehabber… well, the rest of you may be bitten up, but your heart’s certainly in the right place. : )
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Goo goo da dang! These are all so funny Mark! It looks like you had a lot of fun with them. The one that really cracked me up was the geese. The way they are so insistently saying honk! And number four! The way you have the one lawyer is whistling LOL!!! Every time I scroll up and look at them I see something new. I love how that one baby got up on the judges desk and is hitting him over the head. I’d say Markie McGiggles and Strange Law Suits were a match made in heaven! 😀
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Goo hoo ding dang, biddie boo burp!! It’s always a pleasure to meet someone else who speaks the language! : P
I burped and cooed with delight to think of you spotting all the little gags in the drawings– that’s what we like to hear, here at the Doodlers Nursery… : P
Yes, how did that one ankle-biter get up on the judge’s bench?? He must have mountain climber’s gear stuffed in his diaper, the li’l rascal… : )
Thanks as ever, Linda, for all your good cheer and support!!
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Hi Mark,
I needed a laugh and I got quite a few here. Your cartoons are so good.
On the subject of geese attacks, do be forewarned that their bites are nasty and their wings are strong enough to raise awful bruises. I once was victim of a gander attack, but after I started carrying a hockey stick (no Canuck household is without one), and whipping his feet out from under him, he got the message.
It was a good thing he did because he was too old for eating, and was already on the slaughter list.
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Ha!! Speaking of laughs, your wonderful comment did it for me. I’m sitting here trying to imagine the blogging expert I know walking around with a hockey stick, with a don’t-mess-with-me look in her eye. My mind is boggling. I’m going to be very, very respectful the next time I leave a comment on your blog!! : )
Wings strong enough to raise bruises… man! That’s a shock. Can’t say I run into many goose gang members around here, but I may go out and buy a hockey stick just to be safe… : P
Glad you enjoyed the silliness, and thanks as always for your support!
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hahahahahaahahahahahahaa…I can’t stop laughing! Hilarious!
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Now that’s about the best kind of comment a humorous illustrator can receive– thank you, dear Inge!! : )
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Love the babies one and the descriptions of the court cases completely cracked me up. (Have you thought of illustrating some of the daft things we commenters say?)
I don’t talk like a baby on the phone, but I do engage in similar nonsense at home and some while back (think a couple of years) when I went to the doctor it took me a while to remember the phrase ‘stomach ache’, and I nearly said “my tummy is hurty”!
One thing… are these always in the same court, or do all American courtrooms look the same?
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Ha! Thanks, Val. My tummy was hurty after reading your doctor story– very funny! : )
Yes, I always draw the same cliche courtroom scene. I did range outside the courtroom when I first started doing the feature, but the editors invariably picked gags set in the courtroom. I began to see it as a special challenge: dreaming up gags that always fit the exact same scene. Making a virtue of necessity, as it were.
Easy for me, since I’m such a virtuous guy… : )
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