Lawsuit of the Day: More Floral Litigation

Flowers are pretty. They smell nice. So why do they keep leading to lawsuits?
First we had Leroy Greer’s lawsuit against 1-800-FLOWERS. And now we get this, from the AP:

The wedding was lovely, except for the flowers: They were the wrong color.

So says the bride, Elana Glatt, who was so miffed at the florist that she filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract.

She says Posy Floral Design on East 72nd Street substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for the dark rust and green ones she had specified for 22 centerpieces.

Not only that, the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleges that the hydrangeas were wilted and brown, and arranged in dusty vases without enough water.

The lawsuit says the offenses caused “extreme disappointment, distress and embarrassment.”

Every rose has its thorn. Read the rest, including a discussion of damages and an ATL reader poll, after the jump.


So what’s Elana Glatt seeking in damages?

They flowers cost $27,435.14. The lawsuit asks for more than $400,000 in restitution and damages.

The florist is interposing the “I never promised you a rose garden” defense:

Stamos Arakas, the florist, said that he and his wife, Paula, tried to match the color of the hydrangeas with a picture Glatt had given them, but explained to her that the colors might not look the same. He said he had many satisfied customers.

“My father used to tell me, ‘Don’t deal with the lawyers,” Arakas said. “Maybe he was right, God bless his soul.”

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So is Elana Glatt — who practices as Elana Elbogen, according to the Times, and is an associate at Kelley Drye & Warren (Fordham University, JD, 2002; Cornell, BS, 1997) — in the right? Or is she just reinforcing negative stereotypes about overly litigious lawyers?

Update: More about the lawsuit and Elana Glatt appears here.
NYC bride sues florist, saying wedding flowers were wrong color [AP via New York Newsday]
A Bride Sues Her Florist Over Pastel Hydrangeas [New York Times]
Elana Elbogen [Kelley Drye & Warren]

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