Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants

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Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, also known as the McDonald's coffee case and the hot coffee lawsuit, was a highly publicized 1994 product liability lawsuit in the United States against the restaurant corporation McDonald's. A jury found McDonald's liable for injuries suffered by a customer who spilled a hot cup of coffee on herself, and awarded her in excess of $2.8 million ($6.1 million in 2025). On February 27, 1992, the plaintiff, Stella Liebeck, aged 79, purchased hot coffee from a McDonald's restaurant, accidentally spilled it in her lap, and suffered third-degree burns in her pelvic region. She was hospitalized for eight days while undergoing skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment. Liebeck sought to settle with McDonald's for $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. When McDonald's refused, Liebeck's attorney filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, accusing McDonald's of gross negligence. Liebeck's attorneys argued that, at 180–190...

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