I don’t care if McDonald’s nuked their coffee.

[KABOOKIE]

Stella Liebeck spilled it on herself and had no one to blame but herself. Coffee is supposed to be hot. Am I to sue because my lawn mower blade was too sharp? :rolleyes:

But it’s dumb ****’s like Stella, this moron and the juries that feel they are owed something that will drive American ingenuity and spirit right in to the dirt.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/03/missing.pants.ap/index.html


WASHINGTON (AP) -- A missing pair of pants has led to one big suit.
A customer got so steamed when a dry cleaner lost his trousers that he sued for $65 million. Two years later, he is still pressing his suit.
The case has demoralized the South Korean immigrant owners of the mom-and-pop business and brought demands that the customer -- an administrative law judge in Washington -- be disbarred and removed from office for pursuing a frivolous and abusive claim. (Watch people shake their heads over the case of the missing pants )
Jin Nam Chung, Ki Chung and their son, Soo Chung, are considering moving back to Seoul, seven years after they opened their dry-cleaning business in the nation's capital, said their lawyer, Chris Manning.
"They're out a lot of money, but more importantly, incredibly disenchanted with the system," Manning said. "This has destroyed their lives."
The customer, Roy L. Pearson Jr., who has been representing himself, declined to comment.
According to court documents, the problem began in May 2005 when Pearson became a judge and brought several suits for alterations to Custom Cleaners in Washington. A pair of pants from one suit was missing when he requested it two days later.
Pearson asked the cleaners for the full price of the suit: more than $1,000.
But a week later, the Chungs said the pants had been found and refused to pay. Pearson said those were not his pants, and decided to take the Chungs to the cleaners and sue.
Manning said the cleaners have made three settlement offers to Pearson: $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000.
But Pearson was not satisfied and expanded his calculations beyond one pair of pants. Because Pearson no longer wanted to use his neighborhood dry cleaner, he asked in his lawsuit for $15,000 -- the cost of renting a car every weekend for 10 years to go to another business.
Manning said Pearson somehow thinks he has the right to a dry cleaner within four blocks of his apartment.
The bulk of the $65 million demand comes from Pearson's strict interpretation of Washington consumer protection law, which imposes fines of $1,500 per violation, per day. Pearson counted 12 violations over 1,200 days, then multiplied that by three defendants.
Much of Pearson's case rests on two signs Custom Cleaners once had on its walls: "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service." He claims the signs amount to fraud.
The case is set for trial June 11.
Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, has asked that Pearson be denied a renewal this week of his 10-year appointment.
The association, which fights what it considers abusive lawsuits against small businesses, has also offered to buy Pearson the suit of his choice.
Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone Butler had no comment on Pearson's reappointment prospects.
Melvin Welles, former chief administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board, wrote to The Washington Post to say that if he were the judge in the case, he would throw out the lawsuit and order Pearson to pay the Chungs for their legal expenses and their mental suffering. He also called for Pearson's ouster and disbarment.
"The manifest absurdity of it is too obvious to require explanation," Welles wrote.
To the Chungs and their attorney, one of the most frustrating aspects of the case is their claim that Pearson's gray pants were found almost right away, and have been hanging in Manning's office for more than a year. Pearson claims in court documents that his pants had blue and red pinstripes.
But Manning said: "They match his inseam measurements. The ticket on the pants matches his receipt."

[OUDoc]

What an *******.

[mxATVracer10]

not on the same level by any means, but here's a local story thats sorta related.....


Woman Says Bad Brew Lands Woman In The Hospital
KOTV - 5/3/2007 10:20 AM - Updated 5/3/2007 7:53 PM
A Sand Springs woman says she went to a local QuikTrip for some tea, and the drink sent her to the emergency room. The woman says it turns out the tea was cleaning solution. Lisa Demoss says one sip of what should have been tea caused her to vomit repeatedly. She says the store clerk told her water would fix it. When it didn't, she went looking for help, but News On 6 anchor Latoya Silmon reports now, she says she has no way to pay for it.

As a receptionist, Demoss talks a lot, but she says what happened at QuikTrip forced her out of work for weeks.

“I wasn't paying a lot of attention to it,” said Demoss. “It had a brown color to it.”

Demoss says her tea was actually urn cleaner. QuickTrip says it uses it to clean its machines, but Demoss says after drinking it, she started vomiting.

“The gentleman at QuikTrip acted like it was no big deal and to just keep drinking water and everything would be okay,” said Demoss. “So I thought it couldn't be anything that bad.”

But when she could hardly talk the next day, she went to the ER then to a specialist who said she had chemically induced laryngitis.

“I felt like my throat was on fire,” said Demoss. She says QuikTrip gave her an incident report but didn't offer much help.

“We gather all the facts we can so we can immediately start taking care of the situation and start taking care of the customer, but we didn't hear that,” said Mike Thornbrugh of QuikTrip public affairs. The first thing we heard was from an attorney.”

Now Thornbrugh says he can't say much about the case because attorneys are involved, but the company is investigating the matter. In the meantime, he says customers have nothing to worry about.

“People should not be afraid of QuikTrip whatsoever,” said Thornbrugh. “We're going to do the right thing, always have, always will.”

Demoss’ lawyer says so far Quik Trip has refused to pay for her medical bills. They're up to $5,000 now. No lawsuits have been filed in the case.

[StoopTroup]

Someone needs a Happy Meal.

:pop:

[Dio]

Why is she taking medical advice from a dude at Quik Trip?

[mxATVracer10]

Why is she taking medical advice from a dude at Quik Trip?

Cuz she was moran enough to drink cleaning solution?

;)

[Osce0la]

Why is she taking medical advice from a dude at Quik Trip?
Because if she follows his medical advice, she can sue him when it doesn't work? :confused:

[StoopTroup]

I'd sue their A$$ for the cleaning solution.

That's pure negligence IMO.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Stella Liebeck spilled it on herself and had no one to blame but herself. Coffee is supposed to be hot. Am I to sue because my lawn mower blade was too sharp? :rolleyes:

But it’s dumb ****’s like Stella, this moron and the juries that feel they are owed something that will drive American ingenuity and spirit right in to the dirt.




I am on board that this country is in serious need of tort reform to address frivolous suits.

But this guy is infinitely worse than a 79 year old woman who suffered 3rd degree burns on 6% of her body (in the crotch, thighs and buttocks, mind you) that required skin grafts. And her actual award I believe ended up being a few hundred thousand dollars which probably just covered surgeries and rehabilitation. And McDonalds didn't want to pay her a fair amount after settling several other similar cases.

I fully believe companies like McDonalds do have a resposibility to not serve hazardous products to their patrons.

Let me pose it this way: Would anybody serve a 180 degree drink to a 5-6-7 year old? And really if the temp of the coffee was just 10-15 degrees hotter by accident, think about how close that is to boiling at an altitude like Albuquerque.

I think the lady gets a very unfair rap. Just my two cents...

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Stella Liebeck spilled it on herself and had no one to blame but herself. Coffee is supposed to be hot. Am I to sue because my lawn mower blade was too sharp? :rolleyes:

But it’s dumb ****’s like Stella, this moron and the juries that feel they are owed something that will drive American ingenuity and spirit right in to the dirt.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/03/missing.pants.ap/index.html

Well this jerk is a lawyer and I hope the judge has the guts to summarily dismiss this without prejudice (I believe is the term). While I understand that everyone has the right to their day in court, how this isn't a small claims court case - I have no clue.

Oh BTW, when my wife threw out my favorite, well broken in pants, can I sue her?

[sooneron]

I'd sue their A$$ for the cleaning solution.

That's pure negligence IMO.
Yeah, no ****. They'll settle. That sounds like it's not even on the same level as the dry cleaner dude.

[SapulpaSooner]

AM I to sue because my lawn mower blade was too sharp? :rolleyes:

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0117666/fcstil_0214.jpg

[soonerinabilene]

makes me think of roger clemens comment from the world baseball classic. When korea and japan were playing, he joked that he couldnt get his dry cleaning done. Maybe that was when this happened?

[KABOOKIE]

But this guy is infinitely worse than a 79 year old woman who suffered 3rd degree burns on 6% of her body (in the crotch, thighs and buttocks, mind you) that required skin grafts. And her actual award I believe ended up being a few hundred thousand dollars which probably just covered surgeries and rehabilitation. And McDonalds didn't want to pay her a fair amount after settling several other similar cases.

So McDonald's is supposed to pay someone's medical expenses resulting from their own careless acts? BS. You take hot coffee and pour it on your lap YOU'RE GOING TO BE BURNED. It's not the vendor's fault.


I fully believe companies like McDonalds do have a responsibility to not serve hazardous products to their patrons.

Hot coffee is hazardous. Duh.


Let me pose it this way: Would anybody serve a 180 degree drink to a 5-6-7 year old?

No. Why would a 5-6-7 year old be in McDonald's by themselves? Oh, is Stella their mom?


And really if the temp of the coffee was just 10-15 degrees hotter by accident, think about how close that is to boiling at an altitude like Albuquerque.

180 degrees in Albuquerque is 180 degrees anywhere else on the planet regardless if the substance is boiling or not. i.e. you pour 180 degree coffee in your lap in Albuquerque vs. L.A. and you wonld't be able to detect any difference.



I think the lady gets a very unfair rap.

I don't. She did something stupid and was hurt badly for her ignorance. Yeah, do I feel bad for her? Sure. But that doesn't mean McDonalds should have to foot her medical bills.

[yermom]

boiling water has more heat in it than not, but still, that is retarded

yet, at least she had something to complain about, this judge should be disbarred or something (the plaintiff)

the chick at QT on the other hand seems well within what is fair...

[soonerboy_odanorth]

I don't. She did something stupid and was hurt badly for her ignorance. Yeah, do I feel bad for her? Sure. But that doesn't mean McDonalds should have to foot her medical bills.

I can see on this particular case we have to agree to disagree.

First of all, hot coffee is not hazardous. Scalding hot coffee is hazardous.

She may have been careless, and you could even stretch it into negligence if you wanted to beat her up about it (as I'm sure McD's attorneys did.)

But I don't think she did something stupid. Stupid would be intentionally pouring it into your lap. Are you telling me you've never put a cup of hot liquid, coffee or otherwise between your knees while in the car? Maybe we're all stupid then. I've certainly done it. (I know, I know... yes, I'm stupid...Germans Bomb Pearl Harbor.)

And what is her ignorance? If it says on the cup "Caution: Contents Hot" that is a far cry from "Caution: Hot in this case means 180 degrees F which can remove your skin". I don't even know what McD's is thinking serving it that hot.* It isn't drinkable.

*(Well, I know what they argued... that they have to serve it that hot to their drive-through customers because most of them are getting it for long drives... and they also actually argued that it has to be that hot to properly release the flavors for a better brew.... pretty feeble arguments IMO, especially that last one. Have you tasted that swill they call coffee? :D )

Ah well. I disagree with you about Stella's case, and so did a jury. :P

But so we're clear, the judge at the focus of today's story should be shot.

[KABOOKIE]

boiling water has more heat in it than not


Only when measured at the same pressure altitude. Boiling water at 180 degrees and 10,000 feet pressure alitutde has the same amount of heat as non-boiling water at 180 degrees and sea level.

[yermom]

same temperature, different amount of heat

http://www.physchem.co.za/Heat/Latent.htm

(it doesn't really matter, they will both burn your crotch)

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Heh.

Crotch crotch crotch crotch crotch.

I feels kinda dirty sayin' that.....

[sooneron]

There is no reason to serve coffee that hot. And McDs is the debil, they have been helping people into early coronaries/diabetes for years now. Serves 'em right. If every Mcds closed down, I wouldn't shed a tear.

[yermom]

i can't really argue with the last part...

but you order coffee, it's hot

boo hoo

(if there was no more coffee i wouldn't shed a tear either, actually)

[olevetonahill]

Wally world and macpuke same same shat

[sooneron]

i can't really argue with the last part...

but you order coffee, it's hot

boo hoo

(if there was no more coffee i wouldn't shed a tear either, actually)
Yes, but if someone served you food with shards of glass in it (this would be harmful if ingested) you would be pretty ****ed. I wouldn't want to take a sip of 180 deg coffee. I guarantee that would put a major *** burn on your tongue, which I would offer to bet you would go complain about to the manager.

[yermom]

yep, shards of glass are the same thing as hot coffee

do you complain when hot food burns your mouth?

it's not like you get a cup of coffee and start chugging, at least i don't

i seriously doubt an extra 10 or 15 degrees makes much difference on an old lady's crotch anyway

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

...i seriously doubt an extra 10 or 15 degrees makes much difference on an old lady's crotch anyway

:les: YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!

[sooneron]

yep, shards of glass are the same thing as hot coffee

do you complain when hot food burns your mouth?

it's not like you get a cup of coffee and start chugging, at least i don't

i seriously doubt an extra 10 or 15 degrees makes much difference on an old lady's crotch anyway
Skin melting hot is negligent. That is that. There is no need to serve a customer something that they should have to wait 10 minutes to consume- especially a beverage.

And yes, if I am served a cup of coffee that is nuke u ler , I tell them about it.

[soonerboomer93]

that "judge" is one pure piece of ****

[KABOOKIE]

Skin melting hot is negligent. That is that. There is no need to serve a customer something that they should have to wait 10 minutes to consume- especially a beverage.

And yes, if I am served a cup of coffee that is nuke u ler , I tell them about it.

The coffee only melts skin when a stupid person spills it on their lap.

[sooneron]

The coffee only melts skin when a stupid person spills it on their lap.
or pours it in their mouth- gee, whatever could they be thinking? :rolleyes:

[olevetonahill]

But wasnt this Lady like in her 80s or sumpin ?
pretty much like giving the same shat to a lil kid .:eek:

[KABOOKIE]

or pours it in their mouth- gee, whatever could they be thinking? :rolleyes:

No one knows what they're thinking. They're stupid. :rolleyes:

[olevetonahill]

No one knows what they're thinking. They're stupid. :rolleyes:
I hope you never get old .

[r5TPsooner]

I wished that my lawn mower blade was sharp. I hate messin with the darn thing.

[OUDoc]

Just think if she'd dropped a hot lawnmower blade on her lap.

[KABOOKIE]

I hope you never get old .


Do you forget that coffee is hot? That sucks. Guess big buisness better watch out. Of course we won't have any because the sue happy stupid people will drive them out to China. :cool:

[olevetonahill]

Do you forget that coffee is hot? That sucks. Guess big buisness better watch out. Of course we won't have any because the sue happy stupid people will drive them out to China. :cool:
Nope I dont forget Bro . But some old lady in her 80s might . If you owned a resturant and an Old woman or dude came in , Would you serve em Hot enough to scald em Coffee ?

[sooneron]

No one knows what they're thinking. They're stupid. :rolleyes:
Yeah, that's brilliant. When a proprietor of a restaurant hands a beverage or food over to a customer that could actually give them burns requiring skin grafts, that customer should be able to believe that it is fit for consumption at that point, if it is not, the proprietor is negligent- End of story.

I don't agree with the outlandish award, but McFatasses should have paid the 20K in medical bills at the outset and the ridiculous award never would have happened.

[StoopTroup]

I think they should put the coffee in a container that says "Do not drink while driving...Coffee is a drug and extremely dangerous if you spill it while driving. It's your choice however...so...don't come crying to us if you can't read. Have a nice day." - Ronald McDonald

[KABOOKIE]

Nope I dont forget Bro . But some old lady in her 80s might . If you owned a resturant and an Old woman or dude came in , Would you serve em Hot enough to scald em Coffee ?


So now McDonald's get sued for discriminating?

[KABOOKIE]

Yeah, that's brilliant. When a proprietor of a restaurant hands a beverage or food over to a customer that could actually give them burns requiring skin grafts, that customer should be able to believe that it is fit for consumption at that point, if it is not, the proprietor is negligent- End of story.

I don't agree with the outlandish award, but McFatasses should have paid the 20K in medical bills at the outset and the ridiculous award never would have happened.


And it's thought like that that perpetuates that big business has more money than they know what to do with and it's OK for them to pay every dumb, doofus, and retard their medical bills when they don't know how to act responsibly.

If you don't want skin grafts don't pour hot coffee on your lap.

[sooneron]

And it's thought like that that perpetuates that big business has more money than they know what to do with and it's OK for them to pay every dumb, doofus, and retard their medical bills when they don't know how to act responsibly.

If you don't want skin grafts don't pour hot coffee on your lap.
Oh, I see, you're one of those types that thinks big business should just go unfettered and be allowed to do whatever they want. This has nothing to do with hating big business, this has to do with negligence, even if it hadn't been on her lap (since you live in a perfect world where NO accidents ever happen) I would bet that the crappy *** coffee would have burnt the **** out of someone's mouth. I'd bet that Doc could chime in and say that the skin in the mouth is a little easier to burn that the skin on a thigh. Please go on and ignore what I'm saying, though.

[KABOOKIE]

Gross negligence doesn't equal serving customers coffee. Ice is cold. I bet I could sue McDonald's because if I sit on ice long enough my *** will get frost bit. And trust me. Big business getting unfettered access is a total f'ing myth. Every single day some idiot kills or severely injures themselves because of their own stupidity and businesses have to spend millions to defend themselves.

[JohnnyMack]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/06/25/trouser.trial/index.html

Case thrown out.

This d00d should have his *** kicked over this.

[OUDoc]

Yup. He's still a jackass.

[HskrGrl]

I didn't read every post fully in this thread, but I don't think it was mentioned... the "outrageous" settlement that the McDonald's coffee lady got wasn't really that outrageous (and really that's not necessarily what she got since her and McDonald's have a "secret settlement" that has never been made public). The $2.7 figure is the amount of money McDonald's makes in about 2 days on coffee sales alone!

Also, McDonald's had received over 600 complaints on how hot it's coffee was before this incident occurred. Furthermore some of those complaints were the result of people receiving 3rd degree burns from the coffee.

I always thought this case was ridiculous and frivolous until I heard the facts from a friend of mine who learned about it while in law school.

As for this guy and his pants. That IS a stupid and frivolous suit. Too bad he can't be disbarred for making such a fool of himself. :rolleyes:

[yermom]

i don't think it matters if they have gotten complaints, or how much $$$ they make...

coffee comes hot, treat it as such. now if the lids have a problem of not staying on, or if they didn't put the lid on right or something, i can see that...

that's like suing big tobacco because you burned yourself on a lit cigarette

[HskrGrl]

That's kinda different in that the lit part of a cigarette is not marketed as something for you to be consuming. The coffee was given to her with the full intent and knowledge that she would be drinking it. Yes, coffee is ment to be hot. I don't think anyone is going to argue with that. The problem here is with how hot the coffee was. If I remember correctly from what my friend told me the coffee was a good 40 or 50 degrees hotter than if you were to make coffee at home.

I don't understand why you believe that the amount of complaints that they had received before this insident doesn't matter, though. With just about everything else if there are enough complaints about something and/or it causes a person injury it is recalled or at the very least the company reviews the product to see what they can change to make the product safe for the consumers. Apparently McDonald's thought it was bullet proof and had enough high priced laywers that they could get out of any lawsuit that might be filed. And in the end the jury found the woman 20% at fault. She was taking the lid off her coffee to add sugar when the accident happened. Maybe that's why McDonald's offers to add the cream and sugar for you now. :P

[skycat]

that's like suing big tobacco because you burned yourself on a lit cigarette

No. Really, it's not at all.

It's more like suing because instead of burning a hole in your pants when you dropped the cigarette, it exploded on impact.

[OUDoc]

No. Really, it's not at all.

It's more like suing because instead of burning a hole in your pants when you dropped the cigarette, it exploded on impact.
No, it's not. Hot coffee will burn you. A lit cigarette will burn you. Same.

[yermom]

That's kinda different in that the lit part of a cigarette is not marketed as something for you to be consuming. The coffee was given to her with the full intent and knowledge that she would be drinking it. Yes, coffee is ment to be hot. I don't think anyone is going to argue with that. The problem here is with how hot the coffee was. If I remember correctly from what my friend told me the coffee was a good 40 or 50 degrees hotter than if you were to make coffee at home.

I don't understand why you believe that the amount of complaints that they had received before this insident doesn't matter, though. With just about everything else if there are enough complaints about something and/or it causes a person injury it is recalled or at the very least the company reviews the product to see what they can change to make the product safe for the consumers. Apparently McDonald's thought it was bullet proof and had enough high priced laywers that they could get out of any lawsuit that might be filed. And in the end the jury found the woman 20% at fault. She was taking the lid off her coffee to add sugar when the accident happened. Maybe that's why McDonald's offers to add the cream and sugar for you now. :P

i wonder how many complaints they got about the coffee not being hot enough. if they make it hotter than it needs to be to be consumed, then they don't have to worry about it sitting for a little while for the people smart enough to not try to drink it or add cream/sugar in the car

[SoonerStormchaser]

You people are all idiots.

I'm suing!

[goingoneight]

What an *******.
Whoa, can we say *** now?

Edit: guess not... :(