# Obnoxious, Paranoid Bitch Sues Neighborhood Kids For Bringing Her Cookies...Wins **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405 "2005-02-04T18:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/1 "2005-02-04T18:33:10Z")
[Denver Post](http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2691638,00.html) > [@](#): > > Two teenage girls decided one summer’s evening to skip a dance where there might be cursing and drinking to stay home and bake cookies for their neighbors. > > Big mistake. > > They were sued, successfully, for an unauthorized cookie drop on one porch. > > The July 31 deliveries consisted of half a dozen chocolate-chip and sugar cookies accompanied by big hearts cut out of red or pink construction paper with the message: “Have a great night.” > > The notes were signed, “Love, The T and L Club,” code for Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti, 18. > > Inside one of the nine scattered rural homes south of Durango that got cookies that night, a 49-year-old woman became so terrified by the knocks on her door around 10:30 p.m. that she called the sheriff’s department. Deputies determined that no crime had been committed. > But Wanita Renea Young ended up in the hospital emergency room the next day after suffering a severe anxiety attack she thought might be a heart attack. > > A Durango judge Thursday awarded Young almost $900 to recoup her medical bills. She received nothing for pain and suffering. This is letting the terrorists win, man. Even if this woman is actually so unstable and crazy that a knock on her door terrifies her into the hospital, you would think that once she found out it was NEIGBORHOOD GIRLS BEARING COOKIES, she would fucking get over it and not try to find a way to get paid from it. If I was still a teenager and I lived in that neighborhood I might be tempted to start playing a little “Ding Dong Ditch” on a semi-nightly basis. I’m not saying that would be right, I’m just saying… ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/2 "2005-02-04T18:36:47Z")
Wow. Just…wow. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/3 "2005-02-04T18:38:29Z")
What a fucked-up world (country, judicial system, etc.) we live in. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/4 "2005-02-04T18:39:25Z")
Does this mean I can sue those bible thumpers who come to my door early in the morning and scare the crap out of me? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/5 "2005-02-04T18:40:52Z")
Do you know anything about anxiety disorders and unreasonable fear? **I am in no way saying that Young was in the right here for suing** , but an unreasoning fear is an unreasoning fear - if her phobia was people ringing her doorbell at night, then that’s her phobia, whether it makes sense to us or not. When my anxiety disorder flared up, I had a hard time driving in a car with my husband. Somebody telling me to “fucking get over it” probably wouldn’t have helped, since I knew it wasn’t logical, but I felt it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/6 "2005-02-04T18:42:09Z")
Now this is the sort of spurious and frivolous lawsuit that some of us are completely against. Trying to give someone cookies is not mental anguish or anxiety. I know people like to champion the idea that the courts should not be allowed to decide whether a lawsuit is valid or not, and “process” them all, but this is really “out there”. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/7 "2005-02-04T18:45:07Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you know anything about anxiety disorders and unreasonable fear? **I am in no way saying that Young was in the right here for suing** , but an unreasoning fear is an unreasoning fear - if her phobia was people ringing her doorbell at night, then that’s her phobia, whether it makes sense to us or not. When my anxiety disorder flared up, I had a hard time driving in a car with my husband. Somebody telling me to “fucking get over it” probably wouldn’t have helped, since I knew it wasn’t logical, but I felt it anyway. Did your husband ignore it? Every time? Did you avoid getting in the car for a while, or did you go merrilly along your way, despite knowing you were going to have an attack? If she’s got that kind of problem, she can disable the effing door bell, or get a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Ocean\_City\_Maryland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@Ocean\_City\_Maryland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ocean_City_Maryland)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/8 "2005-02-04T18:45:19Z")
> [@](#): > > - “The victory wasn’t sweet,” Young said Thursday afternoon. “I’m not gloating about it. I just hope the girls learned a lesson.” > > - Young said the girls showed “very poor judgment.” > > - The families had offered to pay Young’s medical bills if she would agree to indemnify the families against future claims. > > Young wouldn’t sign the agreement. She said the families’ apologies rang false and weren’t delivered in person. The matter went to court. WTF!? 😕 Is there a lot of violent crime in Durango, Colorado? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/9 "2005-02-04T18:46:56Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you know anything about anxiety disorders and unreasonable fear? **I am in no way saying that Young was in the right here for suing** , but an unreasoning fear is an unreasoning fear - if her phobia was people ringing her doorbell at night, then that’s her phobia, whether it makes sense to us or not. When my anxiety disorder flared up, I had a hard time driving in a car with my husband. Somebody telling me to “fucking get over it” probably wouldn’t have helped, since I knew it wasn’t logical, but I felt it anyway. I have phobias. I understand phobias. I can imagine having this particular phobia. But for fuck’s sake, I don’t sue complete strangers over them. Maybe because I have a phobia about courtrooms. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/10 "2005-02-04T18:49:04Z")
In the Year 2000, a woman will win a suit for having an axiety attack against teen girls delivering cookies. The $900 award will be paid… IN COOKIES! In the Year 2000… In the YEAR TWO THOU-SAAAND! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/11 "2005-02-04T18:49:36Z")
Unreasoning fear is a real problem. It is also **her** problem, and not the kids’. The judge that ruled in this case ought to be forced to eat his copies of the legal code. Every volume. Without ketchup. “Poor judgment?” WTF? They showed poor judgment because they wanted to do something _nice_? This bitch needs to crawl back under her rock. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/12 "2005-02-04T18:53:54Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you know anything about anxiety disorders and unreasonable fear? **I am in no way saying that Young was in the right here for suing** , but an unreasoning fear is an unreasoning fear - if her phobia was people ringing her doorbell at night, then that’s her phobia, whether it makes sense to us or not. When my anxiety disorder flared up, I had a hard time driving in a car with my husband. Somebody telling me to “fucking get over it” probably wouldn’t have helped, since I knew it wasn’t logical, but I felt it anyway. It’s irrelevant whether or not her fear/anxiety/phobia is understandable, in and of itself. Sure, I get it. A late-night doorbell ringing with no answer can be scary, perhaps even so scary that one might freak out and have to go to the hospital. But the girls apologized for having unintentionally scared the woman, and the families offered to pay the woman’s medical bills, which was more than the right thing to do. The bitch refused to accept the apologies (saying she didn’t think they “rang true”), declined their reasonable offer, and then sued them. That’s what’s fucked up about this bitch. Sounds like she’s got a habit of not being very neighborly… > [@](#): > > She thought perhaps they were burglars **or some neighbors she had tangled with in the past** , she said. The only consolation for the girls is that at least the judgment wasn’t any greater than what they’d offered to pay in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/13 "2005-02-04T18:54:41Z")
I think the girls should immediately appeal this on the grounds that the judge is completely and utterly incompetent and most likely insane. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/14 "2005-02-04T18:56:29Z")
Even if the girls knew of the woman’s phobia, they had in no acted in a malicious, or negligent way. This is telling: > [@](#): > > “The victory wasn’t sweet,” Young said Thursday afternoon. “I’m not gloating about it. I just hope the girls learned a lesson.” > . > . > . > > The girls wrote letters of apology to Young. Taylor’s letter, written a few days after the episode, said in part: “I didn’t realize this would cause trouble for you. … I just wanted you to know that someone cared about you and your family.” > > The families had offered to pay Young’s medical bills if she would agree to indemnify the families against future claims. > > Young wouldn’t sign the agreement. She said the families’ apologies rang false and weren’t delivered in person. The matter went to court. > > Young said she believes that the girls should not have been running from door to door late at night. > > “Something bad could have happened to them,” she said. Your right…lawsuits like this are bad. Way to strengthen your local community. Maybe when you’re in real need of a neighbor’s help, there will be nobody there to help you in your time of need. You should have just accepted their apology and let them know next time that they should call before they come and then let them know about your medical condition. Young reminds of the vindictive Rabbit (in Winnie the Pooh cartoons) that usually eats crow in the end. (I’m enduring the Pooh cartoons now for the third time with my 3rd son now.) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/15 "2005-02-04T18:59:00Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you know anything about anxiety disorders and unreasonable fear? **I am in no way saying that Young was in the right here for suing** , but an unreasoning fear is an unreasoning fear - if her phobia was people ringing her doorbell at night, then that’s her phobia, whether it makes sense to us or not. When my anxiety disorder flared up, I had a hard time driving in a car with my husband. Somebody telling me to “fucking get over it” probably wouldn’t have helped, since I knew it wasn’t logical, but I felt it anyway. Would you have tried to sue somebody else over your phobia? I am not pitting the woman for being phobic I am pitting her for blaming her anxiety attack on a couple of teenage girls who were just trying to be nice and who had no way of _knowing_ that knocking on this lady’s door would send her over the edge. Her condition is unfortunate but it’s not the fault of those kids. They had no reason to believe that their actions could cause anybody any distress. They did nothing mailicious or negligent. I can’t see how they owe this woman a cent. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/16 "2005-02-04T19:01:26Z")
OTOH, 10:30 at night is way too fucking late to pound repeatedly on someone’s door and then run away into the dark. I’m sorry, but these little Bimbelinas did show poor judgement. Not $900 worth, but hella poor judgement nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/17 "2005-02-04T19:04:08Z")
> [@linked article](#): > > She said the families’ apologies rang false and weren’t delivered in person. The matter went to court. “They wouldn’t even knock on the door to offer to pay my medical bills after I was hospitalized when they knocked on my door to offer me cookies. They insensitively sent a letter! Can you imagine?” I’m not sure what I’d hate more – living somewhere where you can be successfully sued for a cookie-drop, or living somewhere where having an anxiety attack can cost you $900 in medical bills. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/18 "2005-02-04T19:04:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Poor judgment?” WTF? They showed poor judgment because they wanted to do something _nice_? No, but it was rather ill-advised to be ringing and running at that hour, even if you were leaving cookies behind when doing so. I wouldn’t appreciate hearing my doorbell at 10:30PM and not getting an answer when I called out, either. In fact, I have a strict policy of never opening my door to anyone after dark, unless I know them – and in order to know that, they will have had to identify themselves when asked. The girls tried to do a nice thing and went about it a little wrongly. When they realized the unintended consequences of their actions, they did the right thing by apologizing and offering to reimburse the woman for her expenses. Everything that happened after that is reprehensible, and… > [@](#): > > This bitch needs to crawl back under her rock. with this I wholeheartedly agree. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/19 "2005-02-04T19:14:57Z")
> [@](#): > > She thought perhaps they were burglars Ringing the doorbell? “Excuse me, ma’am, we’re your friendly neighborhood burglars. We were wondering, if it’s not terribly inconvenient, if you’d mind letting us in so that we may burgle your fine home. Oh, and I love what you’ve done with the place! No? We can’t come in? OK, well, if for some reason you change your mind, gives us a call. Here’s my card. Toodles!” ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405/20 "2005-02-04T19:15:02Z")
Perhaps happiness eludes her because it doesn’t want to tread too close for fear she will sue it. I have a feeling that since the story was made public, Young’s nightly frights have only just begun. I mean, reading this makes me want to go t.p. her house and I’m a 38 year old mother. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obnoxious-paranoid-bitch-sues-neighborhood-kids-for-bringing-her-cookies-wins/288405.md?page=2)