HUMOR April 2022
April Fools: When Pranks Become Legal, Not Laughing, Matters
Written by John G. Browning
Chances are you’re reading this on or shortly after April Fools’ Day.
If that’s the case, I hope you survived any pranks that came your way
and perhaps pulled off an innocent jest or two of your own. But most of
all, I hope no lawsuits result—because it’s all fun and games until
somebody calls the lawyers.
I’m not just talking about the joy buzzer or whoopee cushion type of
prank, either. The bigger the “joke,” the bigger the lawsuit. Just ask
the folks at Volkswagen. On March 29, 2021, the auto giant published a
news release announcing the company’s impending name change to
“Voltswagen” as a reflection of its planned investment in electric
vehicles. Volkswagen followed up with a confirming tweet the next day as
news sites reported about the “rebranding.” But then Volkswagen
announced that the name change was an early April Fools’ joke, and a
media firestorm ensued. Among other media outlets, Bloomberg,
in an opinion piece, accused the car giant of going “too far” and
suggested the company should “leave the jokes to people who are actually
funny.” Stock prices, which had gone up amid the buzz surrounding the
name change stunt, fell—and a number of VW shareholders filed a
derivative lawsuit, saying the prank resulted in a drop in the company’s
share price. To make matters even worse, the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission initiated an investigation to determine if
Volkswagen had violated the law with its phony name change. Volkswagen
CEO Scott Keogh apologized for the prank and took full responsibility.
Contests that promise—but fail to deliver—big prizes also seem like a
fast track to the courthouse. In 2001, an April Fools’ joke at a Florida
Hooters restaurant backfired. After announcing to its waitstaff that, as
part of a special promotion, the employee who sold the most beer would
win a new Toyota, the restaurant manager presented winner Jodee Berry
not with a car, but with a “toy Yoda.” That’s right—a little plastic
figure of the legendary diminutive Jedi master from the Star Wars
trilogy. Berry quit in disgust and filed a lawsuit against the company
for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation, which
ultimately settled out of court. While the amount was confidential, I’m
pretty sure Berry could afford any car she wanted.
Not learning from this mistake, in 2005, California radio station
KBDS-FM announced that it would be giving away a Hummer to one lucky
listener. Shannon Castillo was so enthusiastic about being announced as
the contest winner that she hired a babysitter and made special
arrangements to collect what she expected would be a $60,000 motor
vehicle. But when the station’s DJs presented her with a toy replica
instead—and posted video of the entire prank on their website—Castillo
went to a real lawyer and filed a real lawsuit.
Sometimes, April Fools’ pranks can have far-reaching consequences.
When some work colleagues of Glenn Howlett, London, Ontario’s community
services manager, played a trick on him during his vacation by falsely
telling him that the deadline for a major project had been moved up,
Howlett immediately cut short his vacation and returned to his city hall
office. But he was so stressed out by the “emergency” that he collapsed
after suffering heart palpitations and had to be hospitalized. While
recovering, Howlett decided life at city hall wasn’t worth it; he took
early retirement and then sued his former employer. The city now has a
new bylaw, specifically prohibiting practical jokes at work.
I appreciate a good practical joke as much as the next person, but at
the risk of sounding like a killjoy, remember—before you launch that
prank or play that trick—that such attempts at humor may not only fail,
they can also lead to legal trouble.TBJ
JOHN G. BROWNING
is a former justice of the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas. He is the
immediate past chair of the State Bar of Texas Computer & Technology
Section. The author of five books and numerous articles on social media
and the law, Browning is a nationally recognized thought leader in
technology and the law.
