Hot Coffee

Spinning Spilled ‘Hot Coffee’ To Take Away The Right To Sue?

Here & Now Guest:
Susan Saladoff, director-producer of “Hot Coffee“

When 79-year-old Stella Liebeck spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee in her lap in February of 1992, her injuries and resulting lawsuit against McDonald’s ignited a firestorm of criticism and satire when the jury awarded her $2.7 million.

Liebeck’s case was portrayed as a case of a jackpot jury, or the justice system run amok.

However, as first-time filmmaker and attorney Susan Saladoff portrays in a new documentary film “Hot Coffee,” airing on HBO, not only were Liebeck’s injuries severe, but her case was used by business interests to rally support for “tort reform,” which masked a campaign to limit the average person’s right to sue, both at the federal and state levels.

Is Justice Being Served?
Seinfeld mocked it. Letterman ranked it in his top ten list. And more than fifteen years later, its infamy continues. Everyone knows the McDonald’s coffee case. It has been routinely cited as an example of how citizens have taken advantage of America’s legal system, but is that a fair rendition of the facts? Hot Coffee reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end. After seeing this film, you will decide who really profited from spilling hot coffee.




LISTEN

McDonald's served coffee too hot to drink and hot enough to cause third degree burns in spite of 700 complaints.

This case was catapulted by people like Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich to allow Big Corporations to escape culpability.

Amazing what we willingly believe.