Preview

The Mcdonald's Coffee Lawsuit

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4802 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Mcdonald's Coffee Lawsuit
And Now, The Rest Of The Story . . .

By Kevin G. Cain*

The McDonald’s Coffee Lawsuit
14
Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law

omehow, somewhere along the way, the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit became the poster child for frivolous lawsuits. Who hasn’t taken a crack at this lawsuit for the sake of furthering their own cause? David Letterman and numerous other comedians have exploited this case as the punch-line to countless jokes.1 One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes involves Cosmo Kramer suing Java World after Kramer spills a cup of café latté on himself while trying to get a seat at a movie theater.2 Kramer suffers from minor burns that are easily remedied after a single application of a balm given to Kramer by the Maestro. Kramer asks …show more content…
It’s gonna be a problem for them. This is a clear violation of your rights as a consumer. It’s an infringement on your constitutional rights. It’s outrageous, egregious, preposterous.”3 When Kramer asks if this lawsuit has a chance, Jackie responds, “Do we have a chance? You get me one coffee drinker on that jury, you gonna walk outta there a rich man.”4 Of course, Elaine is less than supportive when she finds out about Kramer’s latest lawsuit and quips, “What I mean is who ever heard of this anyway? Suing a company because their coffee is too hot? Coffee is supposed to be hot.”5 Obviously, Jerry and company are taking their own shots at the McDonald’s lawsuit in particular, and at frivolous lawsuits in general. It seems that nearly everyone has an opinion about frivolous lawsuits. This author recently removed a box containing class handouts sitting on the floor in the middle of an entryway into a Bible classroom and asked the person who put the box there if he minded my moving the box because someone could accidentally get hurt. The person responded (knowing that I was an attorney) by simply snorting as he walked away, “I think everyone who files a frivolous lawsuit should be shot.” “Objection,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mcdonald's Corporation V. Town of East Longmeadow Case Summary
    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mcdonald's Corporation V. Town of East Longmeadow Case Summary

    A fast food chain filed an action in the trial court to compel a town's building inspector to issue a building permit and to review the denial by the town's board of selectmen of the chain's application for a common victualler's license. All parties agreed that the chain was entitled to a building permit, but the trial court affirmed the decision that denied the application for a common victualler's license. The chain appealed. The court determined that there was no evidence that the board acted arbitrarily or capriciously in denying the license and there was no basis for disturbing the board's decision. The court also determined that the decision was not tainted by the participation of a member of the board who was employed by a competitor of the fast food chain.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bell Vs Starbucks Case Study
    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bell Vs Starbucks Case Study

    Case: Bell v. Starbucks U.S. Brands Corp., 389 F.Supp.2d 766 (2005), United States District Court…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mims V Starbucks Case
    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mims V Starbucks Case

    The court began by stating the even when an employee spends less than 50% of his time on management, as the plaintiffs claim they did, management might still be the employee’s primary duty if certain factors support that conclusion. The factors were 1) the relative importance of managerial duties compared to other duties; 2) the frequency with which the employee makes discretionary decisions; 3) the employee’s relative freedom from supervision; and 4) the relationship between the employee’s salary and the wages paid to employees who perform relevant non-exempt work.…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Law 421 week 2 work
    • 1527 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Law 421 week 2 work

    Ms Liebeck spilled her coffee on herself which caused her to get burned. She sustained 3rd degree burns because the coffee was brewed at a higher temperature than other restaurants. The case was ruled in favor of Ms. Liebeck. The jury declared McDonald’s negligent because their coffee was found to be 20 degrees hotter than it should have been. McDonald’s had received many complaints about their coffee being too hot and failed to do anything about it. So their actions were considered to be reckless because they did not warn their customers about the temperature of the…

    • 1527 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Liebeck V Mcdonald's
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Liebeck V Mcdonald's

    The case of Liebeck V McDonald’s Corporation also known as “The McDonald’s coffee case” is a well known court case which caused a lot of controversy. In February of 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79 year old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico sued McDonald’s Corporation for suffering third-degree burns from their product. Mrs. Liebeck and her grandson visited a local McDonald’s drive-thru and ordered a cup of coffee. After pulling away from the window, Mrs. Liebeck’s grandson stopped the vehicle so that his grandmother could add sugar and cream to her coffee. Mrs. Liebeck placed the cup between her legs to secure it and attempted to remove the lid. In the process of removing the lid, the coffee spilled onto her lap. Mrs. Liebeck was wearing sweatpants which absorbed the coffee and held the hot liquid against her skin.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Leibeck vs. Pearson
    • 3029 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Leibeck vs. Pearson

    There are many individuals in the world who will always take a chance in life to see if they can sue an individual for what they may have feel their rights have been violated. In the case of Stella Liebeck and the lawsuits she had against McDonalds made national headline and many around the world was aware of this lawsuit. Stella Liebeck believed she was violated in being burned due to the coffee she was served was too hot and it caused third degree burns to her a large amount of her body. Many refer to Stella Liebeck lawsuit to be a frivolous lawsuit and should have never gone to court.…

    • 3029 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Toxic Sludge
    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Toxic Sludge

    Another interesting story that was brought to my attention from the movie was how Oprah Winfrey was sued after her episode about mad cow disease. She stated that she would never eat beef again, and was sued for it by a ranch in Texas that citied the disparagement law. The law came about from Alar, which is a pesticide used on apples. Consumer groups were attacking the product because they felt it was unsafe and were scared, this led PR to…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Frivolous Lawsuits
    • 2390 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Frivolous Lawsuits

    Although this article was published in 1992, it provided me with an abundance of facts for the history of litigation and how it exploded into such a large industry…

    • 2390 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hot Coffee
    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hot Coffee

    The lawsuit ended with Stella Liebeck’s injuries meriting an award of $200,000 compensatory damages; however that award was reduced proportionately to $160,000. The jury also awarded Ms. Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, but because it was allegedly a fraudulent lawsuit, it was reduced by the trial court to $480,000 and stated that McDonald’s engaged in “willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct”. Although this was a reasonable lawsuit, it was occurring when tort reform was gaining speed in the public eye, and was used in different means in the communities to help grow the idea of frivolous lawsuits.…

    • 1875 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Case Of Berry V Gulf Coast Wings Inc.
    • 1593 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Case Of Berry V Gulf Coast Wings Inc.

    In article “You Asked for it, You got it…Toy Yoda: Practical Jokes, Prizes and Contract Law” by Keith A. Rowley, the professor of the University of Nevada, is discussing a case of Berry v Gulf Coast Wings Inc.…

    • 1593 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Tort Reform
    • 3026 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Tort Reform

    The following tort cases, Pearson v. Chung and Liebeck v. McDonalds, have been a pinnacle “poster child” for tort reform in the United States. In 2002, frivolous lawsuits cost taxpayers over $233 billion (Insideprison.com, 2006). What is considered a frivolous lawsuit? It is when an attorney files a suit that they are aware is without merit, lacking legal arguments, and no basis for the claims. (USLegal.com, 2010) Each of these cases, at first glance, presents like a frivolous lawsuit, but after delving into the facts, new appreciation is given to our current legal system. Whether one agrees with the verdict or not, one does come away knowledgeable, as a critical thinker, in deciding the merits of each case based on the facts and evidence presented in each case, and not by the media hype.…

    • 3026 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Starbucks Case Analysis
    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Starbucks Case Analysis

    * Competitive Rivalry: High. Coffee industry is extremely competitive with rivals for Starbucks including McDonald’s, Bigby’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and others are playing certain parts resulting in less dominant position of Starbucks within the industry.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Faverty V Mcdonald’s Restaurants of Oregon, Inc. and Gacioch V Stroh Brewery Co.
    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Faverty V Mcdonald’s Restaurants of Oregon, Inc. and Gacioch V Stroh Brewery Co.

    Facts: Matt Theurer was an 18 year old adult that worked at McDonald’s part time. His friends and family worried about him because he had many extra-curricular activities, worked for the National Guard, and worked for McDonalds. McDonald’s informal policy did not allow high school students to work more than one midnight shift per week or split shifts. There was a special clean-up week McDonald’s held, Theurer worked five nights. One night he worked until midnight, another until 11:30pm, two nights until 9pm, and another until 11pm. On Monday, April 4th, 1988, Theurer worked from 3:30 until 7:30pm, followed by the clean up shift beginning at midnight until 5am on April 5th, and then he worked another shift from 5am until 8:21am. During that shift, Theurer told his manager he was tired and asked to leave from his next regular shift. The manager accepted his request, and Theurer began to drive home. He was driving 45 miles per hour on a two lane road when he either fell asleep or became drowsy. Theurer crossed the dividing lane into on-coming traffic, and crashed into Frederic Faverty’s minivan. Theurer was killed and Faverty was seriously injured. Faverty settled his claims with Theurer’s estate, and then he filed suit against McDonald’s.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Business Law I Case Study
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Business Law I Case Study

    The defendants, upon being hired by Russell, entered into contracts which contained three relevant covenants in this case; not to compete with the plaintiffs, not to solicit the plaintiff’ customers, and not to disclose the plaintiffs’ confidential information. The defendants, for many alleged reasons, separated themselves from the plaintiff and began working for a competitor, Red Bull New York, between August and November 2007. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants were contradiction the covenants mentioned above because of his immediate drop in customers since the defendants left. The defendants claim that all of the information can be readily found on the internet and that they had not disclosed any confidential information. If the defendants were to be found guilty then the consequences would be an oppressive and unfair scenario. Therefore, the motion for preliminary injunction was denied in favor of the defendants.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Legal Studies Consumers Essay Example
    • 2012 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Legal Studies Consumers Essay Example

    The legal interventions which took place involved the intervention of the NSW Supreme Court in which they achieved an outcome for both parties.…

    • 2012 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics