Legal Environment 5th Edition by Jeffrey Beatty,Susan Samuelson

Exercise 10

You have most likely heard of the Liebeck v. McDonalds case. Liebeck spilled hot McDonald's coffee in her lap and suffered third-degree burns. At trial, evidence showed that her cup of coffee was brewed at 190 degrees, and that, more typically, a restaurant's "hot coffee" is in the range of 140 to 160 degrees. A jury awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. The judge reduced the punitive award to $480,000, or three times the compensatory award. Comment on the case and whether the result was reasonable.