Teens Sued for Cookie Delivery to Neighbor
A pair of Colorado teens surprised a neighbor by baking cookies — no charge.
It cost them $900.
Taylor Ostergaard, 18, and Lindsey Zellitti, 19, decided to stay home from a dance in July in order to surprise their neighbors with an anonymous delivery of homemade cookies.
But one of their neighbors, Wanita Renea Young, 49, became so terrified she suffered an anxiety attack and called the police. Young sued the girls and this week was awarded $900 to recoup her medical bills.
The two teens recounted the incident on "Good Morning America," and said that though they were disappointed by the judge's decision, they weren't angry and would continue to do good deeds.
After finishing farm chores for the evening, Ostergaard asked her father if she and Zellitti could bake cookies and deliver them to a few neighbors in rural Durango.
The girls knocked on the doors only of homes with lights on, left the cookies on the porch and ran away, wanting to keep their good deed anonymous. The packages included heart-shaped cards that read: "Have a great night. From the T and L Club."
At around 10:30 p.m., they knocked on Young's door. Young, whose home had reportedly been burglarized before, became frightened and called the police. The police determined no crime had been committed. But the next day, Young was admitted to the hospital suffering from an anxiety attack.
Despite receiving a note of apology from the girls and an offer to pay her medical bills, Young ended up suing them. On Thursday, a Durango judge ordered the girls to pay about $900 for Young's medical bills. She was awarded nothing for pain and suffering.
"I know there wasn't any intent to cause harm, but I think that they made some poor choices," Young has said. "I think there should have been some accountability."
Now, I've only had one anxiety attack in my entire life, so I will admit up front that I cannot make any personal connection to what Ms. Young felt. However, why couldn't she just have left it when the police discovered that there was merely a box of cookies on her doorstep? Did she really have to pursue it judicially? The article goes on to say that Americans are donating money to the girls to pay the $900. I'd love to see someone donate money to up Ms. Young's medication.