12 ms·

>the thief here in Brazil that broke his leg after his victim roof gave away, sued the owner of the house, and won. Source?

• speeder 14y ago
  Failed to find it :( It is a veeeery old thing. And so simple that I found lots of more or less similar stories, but not this particular one. (but found lots of interesting stuff on google...)
  • martey 14y ago
    "And so simple that I found lots of more or less similar stories..." It is a hallmark of urban legends. This story seems to originate with the case Bodine v. Enterprise High School, which involves a 19 year old on the roof of a high school who fell through a skylight covered with tar. Your tale seems more likely to stem from the 1990s movie "Liar, Liar": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119528/quotes?qt0372695 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119528/quotes?qt0372695
• madaxe 14y ago
  Not the same story, but very similar cases in the UK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2074077.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2074077.stm http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223125/90-year-old-shot-face-burglary-SUED-burglar-World-War-Two-veteran-fired-back.html#axzz2KJKEKrBz http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223125/90-year-old-... (sorry for the daily fail link) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356388/Villagers-outraged-police-order-protect-garden-sheds.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356388/Villagers-ou...
  • kitbrennan 14y ago
    In none of those examples the criminal 'successfully' sued the victim (ie. won), they merely brought a frivolous case before the court.
  • stordoff 14y ago
    > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2074077.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2074077.stm The farmer who shot him was jailed for manslaughter of the other burglar, so this isn't totally outrageous IMO. The claim was later dropped anyway. > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223125/90-year-old-shot-face-burglary-SUED-burglar-World-War-Two-veteran-fired-back.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223125/90-year-old-... Not in the UK ("Filing his claim yesterday in California [...]"), and it seems that he didn't successfully sue (nothing reported, but I imagine it would get decent coverage if he won). Just a frivolous lawsuit by the looks of it. > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356388/Villagers-outraged-police-order-protect-garden-sheds.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356388/Villagers-ou... More than likely this is just the police being overly cautious. The duty of care owed to a trespasser is fairly narrow, and the fact that it is a burglar may limit this further (e.g. if the burglar are injured by glass they broke, rather than an inadvertent trespasser falling onto exposed broken glass).
• joseflavio 14y ago
  I am brasilian too, I could find this one [beware of strong images]: http://www.cidadeverde.com/asssaltante-morre-eletrocutado-dono-de-trailler-e-indiciado-por-homicidio-54052 http://www.cidadeverde.com/asssaltante-morre-eletrocutado-do... The thief tried to break into the a trailer but it had electric fences. The thief died electrocuted and the owner of the trailer is being accused of murder (facing charges and trial). I remember reading several others like this one, so this is real in Brasil.
  • illuminate 14y ago
    You cannot set up traps on your land in most countries.
  • analog 14y ago
    Yup, as other poster noted this would result in charges against the owner in the UK too. You can't use deadly force against someone for theft in most civilised countries.
    • thisone 14y ago
      You generally can't use deadly force against someone who is not threatening your life.