Lawsuits are one of the most common money proceedings in business today. While many times lawsuits stem from greed, sometimes lawsuits are completely valid and necessary, but it does seem that every time you turn around there are lawsuits being filed for motives that seem a bit questionable. Unfortunately, that’s simply the way of the world. People feel they need to sue over everything. Some of the biggest lawsuit settlements are more than most people could ever imagine. However, the idea of simply settling for a payment is often preferable to those who don’t want to go through the process of a lengthy trial, and here are some of the biggest in history.
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Webster Lucas vs. McDonalds – $1.5 million
While it’s nowhere near the top of the list of most expensive lawsuit settlements ever to occur, it is at the top of the list of most questionable lawsuits to occur. Webster Lucas, a man of unidentified ethnicity, sued a California McDonalds over a napkin – and won. He allegedly asked the manager of a McDonald’s in California, a man described as a minority, for a second napkin only to hear the manager mumble something under this breath that Lucas thought might be discriminating and he was so upset he could no longer work due to mental anguish. So he sued and was awarded $1.5 million.
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Princeton University – $7 million
Back in the 1960s, a wealthy family left a lot of money to the Ivy League school. The endowment was not controlled the way that the family originally intended, so the family decided to file a lawsuit against Princeton in an effort to change the way in which the foundation was handled. In the ensuing months, the university was ordered to pay nearly $7 million in court fees and also to change the way that the endowment was being managed by the university so that it met the terms put in place by the original benefactors.
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Ralphs vs. 6 Female Employees – Over $30 million
In 2002, six women who’d been terrorized at work in a California Ralph’s decided to take action against their boss. They repeatedly filed complaints that the store manager was abusing them and touching them inappropriately only to find that their complaints were being ignored. As a group, they decided to get evidence and eventually won their case against the store for ignoring their complaints of being mistreated and allowing this man to continue his harassment for more than a year of their employment.
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Ashley Alford vs. Aarons – $95 million
For those who purchase their furniture and electronics outright and needn’t bother with rental facilities, Aarons in a rental store in which people with bad credit or no extra cash can pay weekly to rent furniture and electronics. When Aaron’s employee Ashley Alford was sexually harassed multiple times at work, she called the company’s sexual harassment hotline only to receive absolutely no response. Following her call, she was harassed at a completely different and unacceptable level and decided to get a lawyer. Based on the evidence she’d been accumulating, a judge made Aaron’s pay big time for their neglect.
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Bank of America vs. George McReynolds – $160 million
George McReynolds went public in 2005 claiming that Bank of America subsidiary, Merrill Lynch, was not treating African American employees fairly. He went on to say that the financial institution did not offer these employees the same pay and ability to further their careers as they did white employees. In 2013, the company decided to settle the lawsuit for $160 million. The money was given to more than 700 African American employees of the bank of whom McReynolds named in his lawsuit. The bank wanted to avoid costly fees and a court date.
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Michael and Juanita Jordan – $168 million
Until Tiger and Elin’s expensive settlement in 2010, Michael Jordan’s divorce was the most expensive lawsuit settlement in the world of divorce. He and his wife of almost 20 years divorced in 2007, for reasons that have been widely speculated and never really confirmed. When the couple’s divorced was finalized, a judge ordered the basketball superstar to pay his ex-wife $168 million as well as a few other material possessions, such as jewelry and a home. It was an expensive settlement, but nowhere near as ugly as some other celebrity divorces.
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Mercy General Hospital vs. Ani Chopourian – $200 Million
When Ani Chopourian filed a lawsuit against the hospital for which she worked, she meat business. The physician’s assistant was harassed repeatedly at work, to the point of being stuck with a needle by a doctor in the practice and called “stupid” when she refused his advances. She claimed that a group of doctors at the hospital made it their mission to ask her for intimate favors on a daily basis, despite having been asked repeatedly to stop. She won her lawsuit, and no longer works for the hospital.
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Novartis – $250 million
When female employees of the major pharmaceutical giant came forward to discuss how badly they were being treated in the workplace, it became apparent that discrimination was running rampant. After filing a lawsuit, the company was ordered to settle the claims that they unfairly treated women in the workplace for a quarter billion dollars. The suit included claims that one woman was disciplined at work after using the restroom during a long meeting as well as a claim that the top selling female associate was told she would not be granted a management position after she had her baby.
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Countrywide Financial Corporation – $335 million
Ever heard of something referred to as red lining? If not, consider yourself fortunate. In 2011, Countrywide Financial became an unwilling example to the rest of the banking and mortgage world when it was ordered to pay more than $335 million for overcharging several hundred thousand clients considered minorities. The practice is very common in the banking industry. Banks offer minorities’ higher interest rates and worse terms and conditions as a way of keeping minorities out of more expensive neighborhoods. The practice did not end well for those who made the decision at Countrywide.
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Tiger Woods vs. Elin Nordegren – $750 Million
When Tiger Woods admitted to having an affair with as many as 20 different women throughout the course of his relatively short marriage to Elin Nordegren, with whom he shares two children, it was over for him. In fact, it was the most expensive statement he’s ever made in his life. A judge ordered the golf professional to pay his ex-wife $750 million when their divorce settled. The rest of the agreement stated he’s also not allowed to bring any woman he’s not married to around their children. It’s the most expensive celebrity divorce to date.
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Rupert Murdoch vs. Anna Torv – $2 billion
Anna Torv and Rupert Murdoch were married for an impressive 32 years. Unfortunately for Murdoch, he was caught cheating on his second wife with the women who would become his third wife only 2 weeks after his divorce was finalized. The business mogul managed to earn the vast majority of his impressive wealth throughout the course of his long marriage, which entitled Torv to an impressive settlement. And that came after Murdoch gave her $110 million cash in hopes of getting rid of her a little bit faster than he actually did.
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Dmitry Rybolovlev vs. Elena Rybolovlev – $4.5 billion
The famous Russian billionaire was ordered to pay his ex-wife of many years $4.5 billion earlier this year when their divorced was finalized. The Russian billionaire apparently had a problem with remaining faithful to his wife, whom he stated has known about his affairs throughout their lengthy marriage and dealt with it because of the lifestyle he was able to provide her. She, on the other hand, claims this is simply not the case. She had his assets frozen and demanded half of his $12 billion fortune when she filed suit.
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