September Most Ridiculous Lawsuit Poll — The ‘Video Games Kept Me From Bathing’ Edition

I admit it!  In college I occasionally stayed up too late playing video games instead of studying.  And, more recently, my dog’s patience and bladder have been taxed waiting for me to complete a level of Halo or finish a quick game of Madden.  But I never took my video game obsession as far as this guy, a Hawaii man who is suing the makers of the videogame Lineage II for causing an addiction that he says ruined his life.

Craig Smallwood claims the multiplayer game turned out to be so addictive that it kept him from being able to “function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends.” (Honestly, though, how many friends can a guy have if he dives headfirst into a fantasy world with such gusto that it keeps him from showering?)

But wait, it gets better.  A U.S. District judge has actually allowed the suit to move forward, saying Smallwood “has stated a claim for both negligence and gross negligence.” 

So does suing a manufacturer for making a popular game that one guy takes to extremes qualify as the most ridiculous lawsuit of the month?  Or is there a better candidate below?

• A man in a property dispute filed a suit for $38 quadrillion even though there is only a total of $24 trillion in circulation worldwide;
• A lawsuit in California wants to prohibit minors from “liking” any Facebook pages, pictures, comments or ads without parental approval;
• An upset teenager who intentionally crashed her car into oncoming traffic in a suicide attempt sues the estate of the pregnant woman whom she killed;
• A self-proclaimed “anti-feminist lawyer” sues nightclubs for violating his civil rights by charging men more than women on “ladies nights.”

Go to FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org and cast your vote.