How sweet

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Perfection
Even if is the case that fictional and nonfictional essays are allowed this still is a clear cut case of parental deceptive practices. The parent clearly attempted to trick the judges into believing the girl's father died. No 6 year old girl ungoaded is going to say her father died in Iraq unless he died in Iraq.

Then maybe they shouldn't have judged her story the best then.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Because they thought the story was true and then they took the prize away when they learned it wasn't a true story, which to be enforcing the intent of the contest. Otherwise why would anyone get thier panties in a knot of the lieing ***** of a mom.

Absolutely NOTHING in your posted rules says anything of the sort. That is your presumption.

MrFun - Perhaps but I think the contest was poorly thought out, poorly run, and at the end of the day the company was skewered by their own patriotism. I suspect there will be a cash payout to this family before the dust settles as they broke no rules.

[DinoDoc]

Good luck getting a jury to side with the mom.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Wezil
I suspect there will be a cash payout to this family before the dust settles as they broke no rules.

[Harovan]

It's an essay ffs, which doesn't have to be true by all means. If the judges fell for it, it's their fault, not the girl's (or her mom's).

[Wezil]

Yep.

[DinoDoc]

I can immitate Mr Fun as well, Wezil.

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Good luck getting a jury to side with the mom.

[Wezil]

It won't go to a Jury DD. This will be settled.

edit - btw, Where is the evidence of this "intent" you speak of? Or were the entrants supposed to read minds to know the intent...?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
It's an essay ffs, which doesn't have to be true by all means.

I don't really think there is any reasonable way to dispute that it was intended as a non-fiction contest, Ralph.

[Wezil]

There's that intent again...

[Harovan]

The original article says nothing about fictional or not (and all others are tldr, tbh). If they want true stories, they should have stated so in the first place, and if they did so indeed, the original article is a product of sloppy journalism.

[DinoDoc]

Here's a little exercise, Wezil. You see if you can come up with a reasonable interetation of the contest guidelines that allows the reader to assume that it is a fiction contest. I can't seem to do it.

[Wezil]

I can, and so can others.

The problem with your "intent" argument is that unlike statutes or regulations there is no legislative debate or record to refer to in this case to determine intent. All we have here is a contest with unclear guidelines. The mother was a douche but the company sponsoring the contest was also pretty sloppy about it all.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Yeah, but the essay was how SHE was going to "rock" someone's holiday.

I can only assume she went on to talk about how and what she wanted to do to "rock" her Mom or sister or brother's holiday-- BUt it would oc course be read in light of the tragedy stated in the first sentence -- which of course was the intent in writing the first sentence

Wezil

While the lawyer in me can also poke all kinds of holes in their contest rules and find all kinds of tortured interpretations that do not break the rules (ie they never say it has to be truthful) but I think the clear intent is that you relate how you would rock someone's holiday and not create a work of complete fiction. If she had made up a sibling dying of cancer whose most fervent wish was to see Hannah Montana, would you see that being ok too?

AS for suing . . . I don't know. I guess the argument is that upon winning they became entitled to the prize and that revoking the prize was breach of contract. Obviously they couldn't really argue an entitlement to win the contest

[SlowwHand]

I think my biggest complaint with the essay isn't that it was fiction. I think it was extremely poor taste to say her father died in Iraq, or died falling off a bar stool.