Liberty and justice US '05 style: Teens Fined for Giving Cookies to Neighbor

US News Article Reuters.com: "DURANGO, Colo. (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered two teen-age girls to pay about $900 for the distress a neighbor said they caused by giving her home-made cookies adorned with paper hearts.

The pair were ordered to pay $871.70 plus $39 in court costs after neighbor Wanita Renea Young, 49, filed a lawsuit complaining that the unsolicited cookies, left at her house after the girls knocked on her door, had triggered an anxiety attack that sent her to the hospital the next day.

Taylor Ostergaard, then 17, and Lindsey Jo Zellitte, 18, paid the judgment on Thursday after a small claims court ruling by La Plata County Court Judge Doug Walker, a court clerk said on Friday.
The girls baked cookies as a surprise for several of their rural Colorado neighbors on July 31 and dropped off small batches on their porches, accompanied by red or pink paper hearts and the message: 'Have a great night.'

The Denver Post newspaper reported on Friday that the girls had decided to stay home and bake the cookies rather than go to a dance where there might be cursing and drinking. "


Denver Post / Shaun Stanley
Taylor Ostergaard, left, and Lindsey Jo Zellitti hold one of the plates of cookies they dropped on neighbors’ porches in July. One recipient sued, saying the gift spurred a trip to the emergency room

DenverPost Article - Cookie klatch lands girls in court