TORTS & COFFEE:
Karl Rove and that coffee case

Here we go:  Have you heard of that McDonald’s coffee case?  Even if you weren’t alive in the early 1990s, you probably have.  Most often, people who’ve heard of the case seem to recall some lady spilled coffee on her lap, sustained no real injury, and got millions of dollars for nothing.

What they’ve heard is wrong.  Even worse, the reason we all keep hearing about that case from long ago is because the lie surrounding the case was the centerpiece in a nationwide plan orchestrated by Karl Rove, then a Texas political hack, and others to enact laws limiting the right to a jury trial.  This effort also included working to oust judges focused more on justice than big business.  Sadly, the lie worked very well.

So, what about the facts of that case?  Well, it starts with McDonald’s instructing franchisees to keep their coffee makers set to brew coffee so hot it was like water coming out of a radiator—much hotter than your coffee at home.  Why?  That way, lots of coffee cups could be lined up during the breakfast rush, filled all at once with super-hot coffee, and covered with poorly designed lids.  The coffee could then sit in those cups for a long time and still be at least warm for customers arriving later in the shift.  The unfortunate customers receiving a cup fresh out of the machine, however, could get third-degree burns if the coffee spilled on her skin.  And that’s what happened.  In fact, McDonald’s paid over 700 claims for such burns BEFORE the woman in the famous lawsuit was injured.  Still, it was cheaper to burn people than to pay for more workers at breakfast time or remake lukewarm coffee.

As for the woman who brought the case, Stella Liebeck, she was a sweet retiree in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car.  They pulled over so she could put sugar and cream in her coffee.  The poorly designed lid (fixed after her lawsuit) came off unexpectedly, and the woman received third degree burns all over her genitalia and buttocks from the coffee.  The burns were so bad she was hospitalized and required painful skin grafts.

Still, her family simply asked McDonald’s to cover the cost of her hospital bills and to check the specific coffee pot at issue (assuming it was defective—not set on super-hot on purpose.)  McDonald’s refused.  Finally, in frustration, a lawsuit was filed.  After the jury trial, McDonald’s paid no more than $500,000 to Ms. Liebeck.

Yet, her case, or the false version of it, was seized upon by Karl Rove and others in an orchestrated effort to attack the right to a jury trial and the civil courts.  Rove and Co. were hugely successful.  To this day, people believe their lie about the coffee case and our “run-away” jury system.  As for Ms. Liebeck, she was hurt and confused about becoming subject of national ridicule, the emotional pain of which followed her to her death in 2002.

Don’t believe it?  Here’s an excellent summary video by The New York Times:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCkL9UlmCOE

There’s also a feature-length documentary, “Hot Coffee,” detailing it all, along with lie’s impact on our judicial system.  You can access it on Amazon Prime, NetFlix, Apple TV, Hulu, etc.  Here’s a preview of the film:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBKRjxeQnT4