In life you have to have guts. That’s for sure. If you want to get something, you’d better pull out all the stops and risk being told no, like when James Cameron simply added a “$” to the word “Alien” to justify the film’s sequel. In this same line of thinking is Anton Purisima, the man who decided to sue New York for literally more than all the money in the world.
Money, money, money
Purisima did not like New York in 2006. She didn’t like it at all. First, a dog bit her on a bus. Then, a couple of Chinese tourists took a picture of her while she was being treated. And finally, he was overcharged for a coffee at the airport. The man couldn’t take it anymore and decided to teach New York a lesson by denouncing it for two million dollars. That is, a two followed by 36 zeros.
Let’s keep in mind that right now there is an estimated 46 trillion in the world in total, between virtual and real money. For whatever reason, paying four times all the money in the world to a gentleman for a dog bite and an expensive coffee didn’t seem like it was going to happen. Spoiler: it didn’t happen, of course. It must be said that Purisima was (and is) a professional plaintiff, who since 2004 has already made 47 lawsuits against cities like Philadelphia or New Jersey.
Another thing is that they work out well for him: most of these lawsuits end up being dismissed and do not even go to trial. To put in value what this man was trying to achieve: The Mona Lisa costs 100 million, building the Burj Khalifa 1500 million. Both could have been obtained as if they were small change. There is nothing comparable to the humiliation of being bitten by a dog, apparently.
And that was his defense: in the 22 pages he took to trial, the plaintiff claimed that his pain “could not be repaired with money,” so he justified asking for as much as possible. And if it counts, it counts. This is not to say that you can’t sue the owner of a dangerous dog, but man, if you can, for a little less than all the money there has ever been on the planet. As an idea.
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