Stella Liebeck v. McDonald's Corporation, a.k.a. the "McDonald's coffee case", is a well-known product liability lawsuit in the United States. The details of the case are often exaggerated for rhetorical purposes in the oft-heated debate in the U.S. over tort reform. This article will outline the basic case and its cultural implications. It is a good example of the use of selected information to support a given position. McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants [1]. Although McDonalds did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. ... Product liability encompasses a number of legal claims that allow an injured party to recover financial compensation from the manufacturer or seller of a product. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. ... Rhetoric (from Greek ρητωρ, rhêtôr, orator) is one of the three original liberal arts or trivium (the other members are dialectic and grammar). ... A tort reform is a change in the tort law. ...

Common Summary

What follows is a synthesis of the treatment of this case on popular websites and in common chain letters. A website, Web site or WWW site (often shortened to just site) is a collection of webpages, that is, HTML/XHTML documents accessible via HTTP on the Internet; all publicly accessible websites in existence comprise the World Wide Web. ... A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to two or more new recipients. ...

In February, 1992, Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered coffee from the drive-thru of a local McDonald's restaurant, which she then spilled on her lap. The hot coffee burned her, and she subsequently sued McDonald's. In 1994, the jury awarded her 2.9 million dollars US in damages. February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Albuquerque Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. ... Coffee beans and a cup of coffee Coffee as a drink, usually served hot, is prepared from the roasted seeds (beans) of the coffee plant. ... A drive-through refers to a type of restaurant or part of a restaurant that serves customers in their vehicles. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants [1]. Although McDonalds did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. ... Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One hour Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One day Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — two days This article describes a type of injury. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Controversy

Because this summary is frequently the only exposure to the case that the average citizen has, the case has become iconic of frivolous and outrageous lawsuits for many people, and is often used as an example of the need for tort reform in the United States legal system by those who support such reform. Opponents of tort reform argue, however, that Liebeck's recovery was just, and that the common summary omits significant, relevant information. In turn, tort reform supporters argue that the case is meritless and outrageous even with the additional information, and the omissions are not significant. The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ... A tort reform is a change in the tort law. ...

Omitted Details

The Accident Itself

• The person driving the vehicle was Liebeck's grandson Chris (not Stella Liebeck as some sources would indicate), who had parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar to her coffee.
• She placed the coffee cup between her knees and attempted to remove the lid. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap.
• Liebeck was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin as she sat in the puddle of hot liquid for over ninety seconds.

Injuries Suffered

• Liebeck was taken to the hospital, where it was determined that she had suffered third-degree burns over six percent of her skin. She remained in the hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. Two years of treatment followed.

Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One hour Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One day Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — two days This article describes a type of injury. ... A skin graft is a section of skin that is removed from one area of the body and transplanted to an area that has been injured. ...

Attempt to Settle and Litigation

• Liebeck sought to settle with McDonald's for US$20,000 to cover her medical costs, but the company offered only US$800. When McDonald's refused to raise its offer, Liebeck filed suit, accusing McDonald's of "gross negligence" for selling coffee that was "unreasonably dangerous" and "defectively manufactured."
• During the case it was discovered that McDonald's required franchises to serve coffee at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit (82-88 degrees Celsius). At that temperature, the coffee would cause a third-degree burn in two to seven seconds. Stella Liebeck's attorney argued that coffee should never be served hotter than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).
• Testimony by witnesses for McDonald's revealed that McDonald's did not intend to reduce the heat of its coffee. However, the National Coffee Association of USA recommends that coffee be brewed at 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit and, if not drunk immediately, should be maintained at a temperature of 180-190 for optimal flavor. [1] Starbucks, for example, serves its coffee at this temperature, and, indeed, has been subjected to similar lawsuits for coffee spills. Most courts have dismissed these cases against Starbucks.
• Documents obtained from McDonald's also showed that from 1982 to 1992, there were more than 700 complaints about the heat of McDonald's coffee, some of which resulted in injuries of varying degrees of severity. (To put this into context, this represents one complaint per 24 million cups of coffee sold by McDonald's.)
• Some of these incidents resulted in legal claims, some of which McDonald's settled, particularly when fault for the actual spill was clear.

Manufacturers are reponsible for adequately warning consumers of possibly dangerous products. ... Franchising (from the French for free) is a method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring royalty fee. ... This article describes degree as a unit of temperature. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... The degree Celsius (°C or ℃ (Unicode 0x2103)) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ... For other meanings of the name Starbuck, see Starbuck. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Settlement

• Applying the principles of comparative liability, the jury found that McDonald's was 80% responsible for the incident and Liebeck was 20% at fault. Though there was a warning on the coffee cup, the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient. They awarded Liebeck US$200,000 in compensatory damages, which was then reduced by 20% to US$160,000. In addition, they awarded her US$2.7 million in punitive damages.
  • However, the judge reduced punitive damages to US$480,000; thus Liebeck was awarded US$640,000 in total. Both McDonald's and Liebeck appealed, and in December 1994, the two came to a confidential settlement, the amount of which is secret, but is believed to be approximately equal to the amount of the final judgment.

This article can be confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ... Compensatory damages are damages awarded for civil cases, it is awarded to the succesful party, in the case of the plaintiff, it is awarded as a compensation for the pain undegone and also in most cases is included the legal services payment, however if it is the defendant that wins... Punitive damages are damages awarded to a successful plaintiff in a civil action, over and above the amount of compensatory damages, to: punish the conduct of the civil defendant; deter the civil defendant from committing the invidious act again; and deter others from doing the same thing. ... This article is about the legal term. ...

Conclusion

The McDonald's coffee case is widely known, and is sometimes referred to as "the case where the old lady spilled coffee on herself, sued McDonald's and received millions of dollars." It has spawned a commonly forwarded email entitled "The Stella Awards", which consists of fabricated lawsuits that are claimed to be true. This, in turn, provided the inspiration for the True Stella Awards, a mailing list by Randy Cassingham which provides reports and commentary on actual cases within the American court system. E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ... Randy Cassingham is an American syndicated columnist, humorist, publisher, and speaker. ...

See also

• McDonald's Corporation
• Cup holder
• McMahon v. Bunn-O-Matic Corp., an Indiana hot-coffee-spill case

McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants [1]. Although McDonalds did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. ... A cup holder, as the name implies, is a device to hold a cup or other drinking container including an aluminum can. ...

References

• "The Coffee Spill Heard Around The World"
• Fact Sheet: McDonald's Scalding Coffee Case, from the American Trial Lawyers Association
• The True Stella Awards
• The Real Stella's Case, from the True Stella Awards
• Revisiting the United States Application of Punitive Damages: Separating Myth from Reality, ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law, Vol. 10:1 (this article is freely available on SSRN and covers the Coffee Spill Case from a European perspective)
• National Coffee Association
• Overlawyered.com coverage of spilled coffee cases