Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants

Region

United States

Associated With

McDonald’s Restaurants - defendant in the civil action

Defining Feature

A coffee-spill civil case later recast as a tort-reform symbol

Status

Historical event - civil case dismissed with prejudice after confidential settlement

Overview

Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants arose from a 1992 coffee spill in a parked car in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Stella Liebeck was a passenger when she lifted the cup lid and spilled the coffee. She suffered serious burns requiring hospital treatment and skin grafts.

The 1994 proceedings included a jury award and a subsequent reduction by the judge. The parties reached a confidential settlement. The docket records the judgment being vacated and the case dismissed with prejudice on 28 November; the final settlement amount was not publicly disclosed.

Why It Mattered

The lawsuit became a symbol in arguments over frivolous litigation and limits on damages. Retellings sometimes misidentified Liebeck as the driver or presented the jury award as money she ultimately received. Its public afterlife shows how a memorable headline could shape debate while obscuring both the circumstances of an injury and the distinction between a verdict and a settlement.

The Albuquerque Incident

• PBS dates the incident to 27 February 1992 and places Stella Liebeck in the passenger seat of a parked car when she lifted the cup lid.
• PBS participant interviews and a Los Angeles Times family account describe serious burns, hospital treatment and skin grafts.
• Direct hospital records are not included in this source pack, so no precise hospital-stay duration is stated.

Court Timeline

• The New Mexico Courts docket lists the civil action as filed on 12 March 1993, naming Stella Liebeck as plaintiff and McDonald’s Restaurants as defendant.
• The docket records a jury judgment on 18 August 1994, but the accessible entry does not include the verdict form or a complete award breakdown.
• On 28 November 1994, the docket records vacatur and dismissal with prejudice; the American Museum of Tort Law separately reports a confidential settlement.

How the Story Was Retold

• PBS and WBUR later documented the case’s use in public arguments about tort reform, including its portrayal as a supposed “jackpot jury” story.
• Reported prior-burn figures need their original definitions: PBS describes nearly 700 people claiming burns between 1983 and 1992, while the Houston Lawyer reports more than 700 claims from 1982 to 1992.
• FindLaw reports a $2.7 million punitive award at the jury stage, but the supplied material does not settle the precise post-trial reduction or the final confidential payment.

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