Deja Brew? Lawsuit Alleges Too-Hot Starbucks Tea; Observers Riff on '94 Mickey D Coffee Case
Remember the furor over the famous $2.9 million jury verdict in 1994 concerning McDonald’s serving too-hot coffee? It seems that Starbucks may have brewed up a sequel.
The lawsuit news of the week, garnering international headlines, had to be Zeynep Inanli’s complaint that she had been served unreasonably hot tea in an unsafe container at a Starbucks in Manhattan. Like the McDonald’s plaintiff, Stella Liebeck, she says she was burned as a result, recounts the Telegraph.
“America is famous for its aggressive lawyers but not for the high temperature of its drinks, which to Europeans often seem not hot enough,” the United Kingdom newspaper notes.
Inanli filed the New York state-court suit, which seeks unspecified damages, despite likely receiving a to-go container with a printed caveat, which is now featured on Starbucks cups thanks to the McDonald’s suit, reports the Daily Weekly blog of Seattle Weekly.
The warning? “Careful, the beverage you’re about to enjoy is extremely hot.”
Starbucks reportedly has not commented about Inanli’s suit.
Related coverage:
‘Lectric Law Library: “The Actual Facts About—The McDonald’s’ Coffee Case”
