Matchmaking Malfeasance

All's fair in love and war—unless you're a matchmaker allegedly defrauding your clients.

Last January, New Jersey resident Jeanne McCarthy spent $7,000 to sign up for Two of Us matchmaking service, attracted by the company's promise to set her up with at least one pre-screened match every two weeks. Instead, McCarthy says she went on only one date over the course of five months. To make matters worse, “[she] determined that this one date involved a man with three drunk driving convictions and an outstanding criminal warrant in Arizona.”

When Two of Us refused to grant her a refund, McCarthy filed a lawsuit, seeking unspecified compensatory damages and legal costs.

Painful Pitch

When a professional baseball player gets hit by a pitch, he takes first base. When New Jersey resident Elizabeth Lloyd was hit by a pitch, she sued the 11-year-old who threw it. Two years ago, Lloyd was sitting near the fenced-in bullpen where Little League catcher Matthew Migliaccio was helping a pitcher warm up, when she says Migliaccio intentionally threw a ball at her face. Lloyd suffered multiple fractures and underwent surgery following the injury

Now she is seeking more than $150,000 in damages for medical expenses, alleging that Migliaccio was negligent for “engaging in inappropriate physical and/or sporting activity” in her vicinity. Lloyd's husband filed an additional count against the now 13-year-old, claiming the loss of “services, society and consortium” of his wife.

Migliaccio says he accidentally overthrew the ball. His father added that “It's absurd to expect every 11-year-old to throw the ball on target…You assume some risk when you go out to a field. That's just part of being at a game.”

Bathtime Blunder

Eight-year-old boys aren't known for their cleanliness, but one Texas third-grader was allegedly so dirty that school employees resorted to forcibly bathing him. The boy's parents, Amber and Michael Tilley, are suing the school district, claiming that a school nurse and counselor told their son that he “smelled badly, was dirty and had bad hygiene,” then removed his clothes and “began violently washing his body.”

The two deny that their son had poor hygiene, and say he was traumatized by the incident. “He just kept on and on, wanting to take baths,” his mother said. “You know, he just felt so disgusting.”