COFFEE SPILL HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

Coffee Spill Heard Around The World

Coffee Spill Heard Around The World

Somehow, somewhere along the way, the McDonald's coffee lawsuit became the poster child for frivolous lawsuits. Who hasn't taken a crack at this lawsuit for the sake of furthering their own cause? David Letterman and numerous other comedians have exploited this case as the punch-line to countless jokes.1 One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes involves Cosmo Kramer suing Java World after Kramer spills a cup of café latté on himself while trying to get a seat at a movie theater. Kramer suffers from minor burns that are easily remedied after a single application of a balm given to Kramer by the Maestro. Kramer asks his favorite attorney, Jackie Chiles, if the fact that he tried to sneak the coffee into the theater is going to be a problem in their lawsuit.

Jackie responds, “Yeah, that's going to be a problem. It's going to be a problem for them. This is a clear violation of your rights as a consumer. It's an infringement on your constitutional rights. It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous.” When Kramer asks if this lawsuit has a chance, Jackie responds, “Do we have a chance? You get me one coffee drinker on that jury, you going to walk out there a rich man.”4 Of course, Elaine is less than supportive when she finds out about Kramer's latest lawsuit and quips, “What I mean is who ever heard of this anyway? Suing a company because their coffee is too hot? Coffee is supposed to be hot.”5 Obviously, Jerry and company are taking their own shots at the McDonald's lawsuit in particular, and at frivolous lawsuits in general. It seems that nearly everyone has an opinion about frivolous lawsuits.

This author recently removed a box containing class handouts sitting on the floor in the middle of an entryway into a Bible classroom and asked the person who put the box there if he minded my moving the box because someone could accidentally get hurt. The person responded (knowing that I was an attorney) by simply snorting as he walked away, “I think everyone who files a frivolous lawsuit should be shot.” “Objection, non-responsive,” I thought, but you get the point. All too often there does not appear to be much we can do to change people's opinions on this subject. Or is there? “Just the facts ma'am; ...