A brief overview of Liebeck v. McDonald's

1. Liebeck v.
McDonald’s
The first great American frivolous lawsuit

2. The Story
• In the year of 1992, Stella Liebeck went to
McDonald’s and purchased a cup of hot
coffee.
• Upon being handed the cup of coffee in the
drive-thru she spilled in on her lap.
• She sued McDonald’s and was awarded
almost $3 million in damages from a jury.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

3. The Proceeding Public Fallout
At first glance it seems like the quintessential frivolous lawsuit.
An old woman spilling coffee on herself and then proceeding to sue the place of business
she purchased it from is enough to get the side eye from many members of the public.
Imagine, getting almost $3 million in damages for spilling a drink on your lap.
For many in the public it was simply too much to believe. Liebeck’s case became a sort of
cautionary tale of consumers not being able to shoulder blame.

4. The Lesser Known
Facts of the Case
• When Liebeck, 79, spilled the coffee onto
her lap she received full thickness burns
on her thighs, buttocks, groin, and
genitals that was described by surgeons
as 6% of her total body area.
• The burns resulted in an eight day
hospital stay.
• Liebeck was willing to settle for $20k but
McDonald’s chose to fight the claim.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

5. Additionally…
It was not the first time
McDonald’s had dealt with these
allegations.
Between 1982-1992 McDonald’s
had over 700 claims from people
alleging injuries from spilled
coffee.
McDonald’s admitted to keeping
their coffee between 180 and 190
degrees Fahrenheit compared to
the usual 130-140 range of coffee
served at home.

6. The Defense of McDonald’s
• McDonald’s argued their
coffee was hot because
customers wanted it that
way.
• They admitted there was
no warning that the
coffee could cause severe
burns.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

7. The Nail In
Ronald’s
Coffin
The real blow to McDonald’s in this case came from
their own quality assurance manager.
The manager testified that McDonald’s required their
stores to keep coffee pot temperatures at 185 degrees
despite a burn risk for coffee over 140 degrees.
He also stated that even despite all of these claims the
chain had no plans for reducing the temperature of the
coffee.

8. What Liebeck Received
• The jury awarded her with $200,000 in
compensation damages and $2.7 million in
punitive damages.
• Based on the jury’s assessment that Liebeck was
responsible for 20% of the accident, it was
reduced to $160,000.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

9. What Liebeck Received (Continued)
While $2.7 million seemed
high, at the time that was
around two days of profit
for McDonald’s.
When the case made it to
trial court, the amount
awarded was reduced to
$480,000 or about three
times as much as the
compensation damages.
Rather than risk appeal,
Liebeck entered a
settlement with
McDonald’s for an
unknown amount.

10. Results of the Case
The judge ruled McDonald’s had been “reckless, callous, and willful” in
conduct.
The coffee temperature at the McDonald’s close to Liebeck’s accident
revealed the had reduced the temperature to 158 degrees Fahrenheit.