Not his strong suit

NYer makes list of dumbest tort cases

A woman who won a $161,000 verdict for walking into a ladder while staring at her cellphone and a New Yorker angry MasterCard raised too much money for cancer research are among the most ridiculous lawsuits of the year, a trade group says.

“While some of these lawsuits will draw laughs, they are a cringe-worthy reminder that America’s legal system is being abused to target large and small businesses, universities and even respected non-profit charities,” said Lisa Rickard, president of the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.

One New York suit made the nationwide Top 10 list.

Robert Doyle, the lead plaintiff in a $5 million class action, is suing MasterCard for continuing to advertise a charitable promotion benefitting cancer research after the $30 million fundraising goal was met. That Manhattan federal court case is pending.

Long Island high-school junior Jeannie Whalen sued the College Board in New Jersey Federal Court over a typo on her SAT exam that actually gave her five more minutes to take the test.

Even though the relevant section was tossed and students were given a chance to retake the exam for free, Whalen griped that the process was unfair. The case is ongoing.

Meanwhile, DeToya Moody was awarded $161,000 despite video surveillance that shows her staring at her cellphone outside a grocery store when she walked into a ladder and hit her head.

A DeKalb County, Ga., jury found her only 8 per- cent liable for her injuries — and a sign company responsible for the rest.

And photographer David J. Slater thought it was just monkey business when a crested black macaque scooped up his camera in Indonesia. But then PETA sued him on the animal’s behalf for using the resulting selfie. The case was tossed. PETA is appealing.

The list was created by pulling popular stories from the Web site FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org, and ranking them according to a November Google survey.