Drink at Your Own Risk: How a 90s Lawsuit Changed (or Failed to Change) Coffee Drinking

Published

February 13, 2019

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You can sue anybody for just about anything—sue Michael Jordan because you look too similar to him, sue a dry cleaner for millions over misplaced pants, sue a beer company because the tropical setting and beautiful ladies from the ads fail to transpire.

And yes, sue McDonald’s because their coffee is hot.

You may already be aware of the lawsuit in question, Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants. It’s long been the poster child of frivolous lawsuits because, duh, coffee is hot. Who orders their morning brew wanting it to be room temperature? Clearly, Stella Liebeck found a loophole and cashed in on it before some other crafty idiot was able to.

Theresa Christine Johnson

Theresa entered the world of design through The Dieline. With a background in writing and journalism, she has a passion for discovery and cultivating human connections. Her work for The Dieline is a constant journey to deeply understand all facets of the design process and to investigate what makes designers tick. Theresa’s writing has taken her snorkeling in between the tectonic plates in Iceland, horseback riding through a rural Brazilian town, and riding an octopus art car at Burning Man with Susan Sarandon as part of a funeral procession for Timothy Leary (long story). When not writing, she is planning her next trip or taking too many pictures of her cat.