Twilight Actor Declines to Settle Lawsuit with Push-Up Contest

Taylor Lautner, the actor who plays the werewolf Jacob in the Twilight movies, has sued a RV dealership that failed to deliver a rented RV to Lautner. The dealer responded by challenging the buff actor to a push-up contest:

On Monday the 30th, Brent McMahon, owner of McMahon's RV, proposed that the matter be settled by means of a push-up contest. McMahon said that if the werewolf won, he would pay the $40,000 allegedly being demanded to settle the case; but if McMahon won, he would donate the money to Children's Hospital of Orange County.

That sounds like a great idea to me, but the werewolf's camp rejected the idea immediately. "McMahon RV's response to our client's legitimate claim," an attorney declared in an all-too-attorney-like statement, "demonstrates the lack of professionalism that Mr. McMahon, his company and his employees have exhibited from the outset, and that compelled the filing of this lawsuit in the first place." The push-up contest was simply a "facetious suggestion," he said, and maybe it was, but it is also an awesome suggestion and seems to me like a perfectly good way to settle a lawsuit.


Link | Photo: AP

Sounds like the RV dealer was trying to twist some publicity out of it, I figure 40K is a reasonable cost to have some popular actor dance (or do push ups) in the name of your dealership (could probably write it off as a business expense, instead of a loss if it went to court).

It doesn't sound all that professional on the dealership's part, and I don't think it would help the actor's career if he participated.
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The RV dealer wants free publicity, even if it is a bad publicity.

Taylor should sue them and done the 'money' to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County
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@b "That is an idiotic response to a lawsuit. Period. Beyond unprofessional."

It's an RV dealer. Have you seen their commercials? Are you aware of their sales pitch tactics? "Professional" is not a word I would choose to describe an RV dealer.
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Now, if Lautner is smart, he'll take the added publicity from the request making headlines and add to that publicity himself by doing some sort of legitimate push up contest fundraiser for the kids. Like go down to the hospital itself and visit the kids and challenge some other celebrities to a push-up contest and take "bets" and sell tickets and such and raise a bunch more than a measly 40 grand for the little ones. Lautner will look generous and still have his 40 grand settlement. The RV guy won't get any more free publicity off of it. The hospital will still get a big windfall.
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The push-up contest was simply a "facetious suggestion," he said, and maybe it was, but it is also an awesome suggestion and seems to me like a perfectly good way to settle a lawsuit.

Yeah, because physical strength is clearly the determining factor in whether one deserves justice.
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Way to go.

The dealer makes himself look like the good guy and Lautner look like a jerk in one simple move.

So the dealer says I'll pay the 40K win or lose. I win the kids get it, I lose Lautner gets it. And looks like the good guy. Lautner looks like an uptight jerk because he's demanding the $40K he can probably easily afford to write off at the potential expense of a childrens' charity?

And come on, how does an RV rental leave him $40K out of pocket? It's about time this compensation culture was knocked on the head. People suing for more than they can prove they are *actually* out of pocket should be prosecuted for attempted fraud.

@Melissa, it's too damned late for that now. After getting his legal team to issue that statement anything his does no will look like a damage limitation excercize and make him look worse.
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On the subject of the compensation culture:

A guy sued a TV dealer because he bought a TV from them and burned out the PSU by plugging the 115V device into a 230V supply and the TV company refused to accept liability for the damage.

The guy sued for a few hundred for the price of the TV, which is OK although he still deserved to lose. But the icing on the cake was he added several thousand to the suit for "mental anguish" or some such crap. It's in this sort of situation where claimants should be prosecuted.
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