Christmas joy can be soured by accidents that lead to lawsuits.
No one, not even Baby Jesus or Mariah Carey, is immune from Christmas-related lawsuits.
Courts are full of tales of holiday celebrations gone wrong, leaving some plaintiff lawyers advertising their services for “one of the most dangerous times of the year” for injuries like slip-and-falls and decorating accidents.
The group Protecting American Consumers Together is issuing an awareness alert, similar to previous warnings about Thanksgiving and Halloween.
“Whether you’re attending a potluck, hosting a holiday party, decorating your home or expecting Christmas carolers, billboard lawyers are ready to pounce and turn seasonal mishaps into lawsuits,” said Lauren Zelt, Executive Director of PACT.
“From slip-and-fall claims and party injuries to food poisoning allegations and snow-covered sidewalks, it’s clear that America’s lawsuit culture doesn’t take a holiday. Families deserve to celebrate Christmas without fearing a legal ambush at their front door.”
PACT suggests keeping walkways free from snow and ice and making sure food cooked for holiday gatherings won’t get anyone sick. Tripping hazards, like electrical cords for Christmas lights, could also leave homeowners with a present they didn’t want – a lawsuit.
A search of court records shows a variety of Christmas cases (there are unfortunately many stories of sexual harassment at office parties). Mariah Carey herself was sued for her anthem “All I Want for Christmas is You,” defeating plaintiffs who claimed she’d stolen the song from them.
Though she won that case, Mariah lost her effort to trademark herself as the “Queen of Christmas.”
Nativity scenes on public land have also been the subject of many lawsuits, like an Indiana case against Jackson County, which provides electricity for a display at a historic courthouse. A resident went to federal court to argue she was offended by it because it is all “part of the Christmas, and the whole, you know, Christianity thing.”
A lower court ruled for her, but that was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The nativity scene “fits within a long national tradition of using the nativity scene in broader holiday displays” to depict the origins of Christmas, it wrote.
Other court tales of Christmas woe include:
-A Haitian man encouraged to play Santa Claus at a Christmas party only to allegedly be told by a supervisor that it would be “unacceptable” for Santa to have a Haitian accent;
-An officer who arrested a spoilsport who used a bullhorn to announce Santa isn’t real and decry him as a false idol was hit with a false arrest lawsuit;
-A parent unhappy with the Christmas monopoly at her children’s California elementary school sued to be allowed to display a six-foot inflatable menorah;
-A former Tullahoma, Tenn., alderman filed a lawsuit claiming she was retaliated against for holding a redneck Christmas party that included a Confederate flag;
-A Chicago woman sued Home Depot after tripping over a Christmas tree;
-Galveston College faced a discrimination lawsuit by a former employee whose allegations included a comedian at its Christmas party made sexist jokes; and
-An elementary school student went to court to include the “Legend of the Candy Cane” – a written message that Christmas is meant to honor the birth of Jesus – on candy canes he wanted to give to classmates.
