Nintendo "might" be named in Wii wrongful death lawsuit

by Christopher Grant { Jan 22nd 2007 at 4:27PM }

Roger Dryer, lawyer for the family of Jennifer Strange -- the California woman who died from water intoxication after participating in a radio contest to win a Nintendo Wii -- told the Sacramento Bee that Nintendo "might" be named in the lawsuit if the video game giant participated in the contest, which encouraged hopefuls to hold their wee for a Wii (wow, they're homophones!). California's KCRA corroborated, stating, "Dreyer also says he is looking into the possibility of adding more people, expanding this lawsuit, not just including 107.9 but also including Nintendo ..." Our Spidey-sense tells us that Nintendo would never have touched such a puerile contest (especially one picking on their name) but we'll see as the lawsuit moves forward.

[Thanks, Markham]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

v1cious @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:32PM

well this is just stupid. there's no way in hell they could be held responsible.

el chino @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:33PM

Unless Nintendo donated the console for the contest I can't see how they could be involved.

crono141 @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:37PM

yeah, I doubt Nintendo sponsored said competition. The station is way to small town, and they probably just procured one on their own for the competition.

boywundr @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:38PM

I agree, I doubt Nintendo was involved. The thing that really erks me is how sue-happy we are as Americans. Yes, I know the radio station deserves to get its buttocks handed to it as well as the DJ's, producers, whatever, but to take down everyone in your vengeful path is getting to be a bit much. I understand the dude is grieving, but money won't make him happy. People feel like they deserve millions for anything. Speaking of grieving... didn't take him OR his lawyer long to "move on" and get the bastards who done his wife wrong.

...unreal...

Flute Suit @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:38PM

If Nintendo hadn't picked such a stupid name for their console, three kids would have a mother.

Buckshot @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:43PM

Stupidity should never give you(or your survivors)the right to sue.

w00ter @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:43PM

Decent graphics, but definitely not "Next-Gen" and also, the A.I. is
horrible...

SteveThug @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:44PM

as fucked as that sounds flute suit, you're right. if they stuck with the revolution, this chick would be alive right now.

so i guess Shakespeare can eat it when he said a rose by any other name.

Eithlinn @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:46PM

The lawyer is also trying to sue Justin Timberlake and his tour sponsors (Verizon and Dell), because the losers of the contest were given tickets to his Sacramento show.

Skwurl @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:48PM

#5

If the radio D.J's weren't such fucking morons, three kids would have a mother.

Fixed.

Tim T. @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:49PM

#5
Yes, and if Nintendo never stepped into the video gaming industry, the same result could be achieved.

It is unreasonable to shift the blame onto Nintendo like that. They had nothing to do with the contest.

People need to stop shifting the blame onto others and take responsibility for their actions. Making this incident Nintendo's fault is like blaming a hard-working professor for failing an exam. Of course, you'd probably reason that it's the professors fault for ever teaching the subject, and not yours because you didn't study.

I mean, really.

Jigzat @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:51PM

About money and happiness, well. Companies don't care about people they only care about earning margins and son on, so make them pay tons of money is the only thing that may hurt them. Second the mom left two childs (i think they were 2) so money surelly will help his father or family to raise them. As we say here in Colombia "Money dont bring happiness but i rather to cry in my mansion my yacht and my ferrari"

Player1 @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:52PM

Do you know why they'd name Nintendo? Because Nintendo has money! It's the exact same reason J.T. goes after game developers. Lawyers smell money they will follow the trail.

Mors @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:57PM

If the woman hadn't signed a waiver indicating the potential health risk of drinking that much water, and then gone ahead and drank herself to death anyway, three kids would have a mother.

Every forum discussing this incident seems to place blame on everyone but the one who had the personal responsibility and choice in the matter. And no, I don't condone what was obviously a foolish contest to hold in the first place.

Dracula Jones @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:01PM

Might as well sue Evian for supplying its Death Water, too.

The radio station should be sued, but if they get retarded with this lawsuit, they won't get anything. Get a real lawyer.

Marty @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:08PM

Even if they did donate the console, if they had no knowledge of what the contest would be, I see no way that they could be held responsible. It's negligible if it's even the station's fault - the real bad guys here are the idiot DJ's who created and furnished the contest.

som1 @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:12PM

@#8:

If it was the Revolution, then they'd have a "Revolve for a Revolution" contest, and would instead get sued for making some motion sickness person pass out, or worse, getting puked on and charging the puker with assault with a deadly weapon.

A rose by any other name... would make people sue for calling the artist formerly known as Prince Prince.

umm....hello??? @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:27PM

@5

seriously?? dude, I hope you're on the jury when I sue a big corporation. The radio station's next contest will be "Screw a Pony and Win a Sony!!" whoops, we're sorry, the radio station brought in a jackass instead and you got kicked in the head, and now you're dead!! too bad you signed a waiver!!!

Morisato @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:36PM

As stupid as the woman is, the one to blame is the radio station. Under RIAA laws, radio stations and DJ's are to assume all their listeners are idiots (paraphrased of couse).

Jackson Pritt @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:36PM

This is pathetic.

I fully support suing the hell out of 107.9 The End (I used to listen to that station sometimes when I went to UC Davis) but incuding Nintendo is insane. Even if Nintendo gave free consoles to the station for giveaways, I doubt they understood how reckless the station was being and there's no way they can be tied to this.

WaterlooDude @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:42PM

Yeah, let capitalize dead people.

fawazr @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:48PM

wait. this woman chose to risk her life for a toy. No one held a gun to her head. Just like people choose to drive to work knowing they could get into an accident; you don't hold the employers liable if that happens.

God damn this backwards country where blame is never properly assigned. Tragic or not, she dug her own grave by her own actions. If she paid attention to what was undoubtedly unbelievable pain and suffering, she'd notice that getting her spoiled backwater brats a toy isn't as important as letting them have a living mother.

Now her family and a dubious trial lawyer want to recoup on her untimely though stupid death because she apparently didn't have an insurance policy of any sort. And since they don't have a chance in hell of appealing to reason, they appeal to public stupidity by blaming everyone with two cents to their name for her death.

Steve @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:50PM

The US desperately needs reform to its legal system, and I believe some "loser-pays" rules would take a serious dent out of the following practice:

1) Something bad happens
2) The damaged party gets a lawyer
3) The lawyer finds the party with the deepest pockets that has something to do with the situation. Whether or not they are responsible in any way doesn't matter.
4) Lawyer sues that party

Either outcome is bad. The damaged party either wins (i.e. the McDonald's coffee lady) or the deep pocket party wins but has to deal with all the legal expenses.

In this situation Nintendo had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with the situation, but since it's the party with the deep pockets it will be sued anyway.

That's why we need legal reform in the US because it will make people afraid to file these frivolous jackpot lawsuits. Oh wait, I forgot. The US voters decided to install socialist candidates in congress just like their celebrity heros instructed them to do. These Socialist party politicians are actively slithering round with the sleezy trial lawyers snakes that push for these lawsuits. Oh well. Guess Jennifer Aniston forgot to tell us that would happen.

The Origin Of Species @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:59PM

I don't agree at all with the lawsuit. It's sad that she lost her life, but the radio station should not be held responsible for her death. They did not force the water down her throat, she did. It was a voluntary contest and she could have stopped whenever she wanted. It is our responsibilty to know what or what not to put into our mouths, not the corporations.
There is a fine line between personal responsibility and corporate responsibility. Too often people do not see that line and try and extort money from corporations. One example would be a person falling on a slippery floor in a store. If there is no signage indicating the danger, then the injured party is almost positively going to win. But who really is at fault for hurting this person. Did the corporation harm the customer through negligence or did the person harm themselves through negligence?
It could be argued either way, but I for one, believe that it is personal responsibility to look after ourselves and corporate responsibility to provide products and services for doing so.

Water in itself does not pose much of a threat and the radio station is not at fault for providing it to her.

Infil @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:08PM

Hmm, instead of "hold your wee for a Wii", maybe it could have been "lead the oppressed Ugandan citizens through a political revolution for a Revolution"! Only a slight risk to your life.

Catprog @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:21PM

the McDonald's coffee lady only asked for $200,000 to cover medical bills. The jury found McDonald was 80% responsible so she got $160,000.

The rest of the money was punitive damagaes.

read http://www.ssqq.com/archive/responsibility03.htm

Evan @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:24PM

@Steve
Socialist countries do not have problems with frivolous lawsuits.

snoopdiggity @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:31PM

This is pretty lame. A woman unintentionally commits suicide for a $250 product and now her survivors want to sue?

That is like being a drunk driver, getting in a car accident and suing Ford. If i didn't have a Ford, then I wouldn't have crashed a Ford and it wouldn't have been a Ford I died in.

She was an adult and was responsible for her own consumption. If she OD'd on Crystal Meth to win a WII we would all have different attitudes.

No one forced it down her throat, especially not Nintendo.

Namrepus221 @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:55PM

Unless nintendo had a hand in organizing the contest (i.e providing the system or sponsoring it) Then they could be sued.

If they try to sue because of the name "Wii" then the trial will probably be thrown out on extenuating circumstances.

Campion @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:58PM

Steve, do some reading. People misrepresent the McDonald's coffee lawsuit all the time when they want to demonstrate how out-of-control the legal system has become, which generally indicates they haven't read anything more than just the headline of that story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Liebeck

kick-o @ Jan 22nd 2007 7:23PM

The "Hold It!" double entendre really had me laughing

HotShotX @ Jan 22nd 2007 7:23PM

You know, in all of the controversy surrounding this incident, one question still remains unanswered...

Did she win?

~HotShotX

waruwaru @ Jan 22nd 2007 7:55PM

@#32, according to the newspaper article, she did not win.

So if the radio station gave away some MS product, they could've sued Bill Gates. And if they gave away money, they could've sued uncle Sam. I love lawyers.

tom_squick @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:15PM

Its just crazy.

David004 @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:31PM

Nintendo will win, they always do on these lame things.

Kurifurisan @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:32PM

They should have just stayed with the original name before Revolution : the Okama GameSphere.

fil @ Jan 22nd 2007 10:13PM

I LIVE in sacramento! yay me! well, at first i said, 'she signed the release, and should have read it before doing so" which i still hold to be true. however, i feel the DJ's should have been more forward about the water intoxication issue because 2 NURSES (yes 2) called them ahead of time, worried about this issue in particular. the DJ's simply laughed it off stating "they'll puke when they're bodies have had enough though , right?" literally, LAUGHING about it. so, in conclusion: while i feel the radio station should have been more forward with the information, she did sign the release.

Callandor @ Jan 22nd 2007 11:14PM

It is absolutely pathetic to see you people wanting that radio station to be sued. The decision to drink that much water and not piss was the choice of that woman, and that woman alone. It's not the DJs' fault that she died. Maybe she should have thought about what would happen if she went through with it. I'm sick of seeing people always blaming someone else because of a person's personal actions. It is sad that she was killed and her children no longer have a parent, but it is completely her goddamn fault.

Sly @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:59AM

They should be liable! They help created the mass hysteria that led to this death. Just like the Great White concert. And nobody held a gun to their heads. Seriously this is no ha ha.

Martin @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:39AM

#10 and #5

If the deceased wasn't such a fucking moron, three kids would have a mother.

Fixed.

Martin @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:40AM

God, when will people from the US finally take responsibility for their own retarded actions.
Even the hosts were telling the lady to stop the contest... No one can help that she is so stupid that she puts aside basic needs because she thinks the only way to show her kids she loves them is a Wii.... The stupidest thing is... it usually only takes waiting in line on a shipment day for about 2 hours to get a system!

The Wii is great, but nothing is that important...

Slaziman @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:47AM

I'm not sure but I don't most people know what water intoxication is, and seeing as the DJ's didn't know either when THEY were sponsoring this contest, even after being warned, they should be held liable. It's not like the woman burst her bladder or anything, she just drank too much water in a too small frame of time, I don't think much people know that would kill you, I mean if that danger was there why would people host these contests and have no physicians over in case of an emergency? Because the radio and DJ's didn't know either, which is NEGLIGENCE, and they should be sued for it.

dadidito @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:02AM

I already see the suit: Because Nintendo did not make the WII sufficiently available they are then responsible for the woman death by driving her to such extremes to attain the "WII".
While we are at it.. lets sue the bottled water company, the building she took part in this, etc, etc. Jeeze... litigation is so out of hand.

Microfoot @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:24PM

Someone wants a piece of Nintendo's Wii money. There's no association with Nintendo here. It's like suing Disney over a "Hold your poo for a Winnie the Pooh" contest.

Nick @ Jan 23rd 2007 1:16PM

If Nintendo hadn't changed the name yeah, she would be alive right now but they can't be sued over it. It's not like Nintendo told her to kill herself. You can say it's Nintendos or the DJs "fault" but the responsiblity lies with the woman. No one would have died if no one decided to enter the stupid contest.