This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays we look at the sitcom, Seinfeld and its influence on the Canadian justice system. A man suggests a medieval way to settle a legal dispute with his old wife. And a Florida man throws rocks at a girl in an attempt to get her to leave him alone.
Follow the jump to find out which legal cases made the cut this week.
Seinfeld justice
More than 20 years since it left our screens, Seinfeld has left an indelible mark on pop culture. The show’s endlessly quotable lines entered everyday speech, it garnered an army of fans and its impact on comedy is still felt to this day.
Seinfeld’s writers can now boast their influence extends to Canadian law. An Edmonton man appealed against his conviction in relation to a dog attack. After months of “bungling” of court dates, the Court scheduled a trial at 1.30 pm on January 31, 2019.
The Court, however, did not have time to hear the trial that day and rescheduled the hearing for 9 am on October 16. When the man did not show up at 9 am he was convicted in absentia. He showed up two hours later saying he thought the trial started at 1.30 pm.
At the appeal, a Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta justice cited a similar predicament faced by Seinfeld character George Costanza. In one particular episode, Costanza cancels a physiotherapy appointment only for the physiotherapist to charge him a $75 fee.
He goes into the physio’s office the next day for an appointment, but a receptionist informs him it is cancelled due to personal reasons.
George says: “I’m sorry, I require 24 hours for a cancellation.”
“Now, as I see it, you owe me $75. Will that be cash or cheque?”
In allowing the Edmonton man his appeal, the justice found parallels between the man Costanza, noting: “the Court itself bungled its dates twice and required his attendance both times”.
Trial by combat
A Kansas man put forward a novel solution to his and his ex-wife’s legal troubles: a trial by combat.
David Ostrom’s legal dispute with his former wife Bridgette Ostrom over custody and visitation issues and property tax payments turned bitter.
Mr. Ostrom filed a motion in court to settle their legal dispute “on the field of battle”. He even asked the judge for 12 weeks to secure samurai swords.
You’re dumped
A Florida man took the phrase, actions speak louder than words, to heart when he let his girlfriend know how he felt. Hunter Mills was arrested for using a front-end loader to dump dirt over his girlfriend’s car.
The woman drove to meet Mills on a road next to an excavation business. Mills arrived in the front-end loader and dumped the dirt over the driver’s side of the car after she “refused to answer a question”.
When questioned by police, Mills, said he did it in an attempt to “get the woman to leave him alone”.
