...Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Custom Cleaners Legal Case Analysis AMBA 610 9043 University of Maryland University College Introduction Frivolous lawsuits can be a determent to those who are really seeking justice through the court system. Lawsuits that are frivolous in nature are filed in the court systems that lack legal merit (Frivolous Lawsuit Law & Legal Definition, 2015). Plaintiffs and attorneys who decide to partake in meaningless claims against other parties can anger society by wasting tax payer’s money on cases that are filed and argued with loop holes in litigation (Frivolous Lawsuit Law & Legal Definition, 2015). Evaluating the product and service liability laws will give insight into the two cases that will be discussed in this paper. The two cases covers how product liability effects the consumer and company owners of each industry of businesses. Cases that are brought to courts for product liability is always initiated by the plaintiff who has to prove if the defendant is liable for alleged action claims (Jones, 2015). Two cases that have made an impact on the pursuit of filing frivolous lawsuits is the Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Custom Cleaners case, which will be discussed in further detail throughout this paper. If cases set precedence’s in the court systems, then these two cases show how people can obtain or attempt to collect monies from others that lacks in importance to bringing legal justice per society standards. Case...
Words: 3359 - Pages: 14
...ludicrous motivations. Many cases endure for years or longer. Nevertheless, the costs involved in defending a claim can be exorbitant. Unfortunately, despite every precaution, we live in a society where anyone, any business can be sued for anything. Solely because a lawsuit has been filed, however, does not mean the case has merit. This paper discusses two legal cases related to frivolous lawsuits. The first lawsuit was filed against the McDonald’s Corporation by Stella Liebeck in 1994. The second lawsuit was filed against Custom Cleaners by Roy L. Pearson, an administrative judge, in 2007. Both cases are notable and played a major role in guiding small and large companies in their responsibilities to their customers, reducing the risk of litigation, and protecting their assets to avoid unnecessary liability. Both cases will be analyzed by comparing and contrasting the facts, law, and merit. In addition, this paper will examine ethical issues and address the topic of frivolous lawsuits as they apply to the two cases. Finally, this paper will argue ways in which each company could have used better risk management techniques to avoid the lawsuits. The Facts McDonald’s No matter the precaution one tries to take when handling hot substances, there is always a chance of an accident, as was the case in Liebeck v. McDonald’s...
Words: 2650 - Pages: 11
...Product Liability Management Victor Adejayan Dr. Dianne Barrs Strayer University LEG 500 September, 2012 Product liability is the responsibility of a manufacturer for injury or loss caused by its product (Dictionary.com). Product liability serves to protect the public but it is may turn out to be very expensive to organizations. Management has the duty of making sure that organizations’ resources, especially funds and reputation, do not suffer unnecessary attrition and damages through the implementation of effective, affordable product liability programs. It is important to have people in management that possess the skills such needed to solve liability issues in the legal arena, most importantly before they occur.The challenge of the manager is fulfilling his/hers responsibilities by generating profit in business while protecting the interests of otherstakeholders, such as, employees and customers. Though the savvy manager cannot stop people from having the intention and grievances to sue the organization, they can reduce the motive of prospective plaintiffs and in event of a lawsuit happens; effective product liability management mitigates the negative effects on the organization. Management has the duty of making sure the product liability policies and programs of the organization is clear, concise and precise so that the interpretation thereof cannot be turned to work against the organization. Most lawsuits that are directed at organizations arise...
Words: 1890 - Pages: 8
...Week 7: Case Studies Research Michael Abernathy 11/24/15 AMBA 610 The Facts The circumstances in the case of Stella Lieback v McDonald’s Restaurant consist of a hot coffee burn incident. Stella Lieback a 79- year old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico visited a drive-through McDonalds. The incident took place on February 27, 1992 as a passenger in her grandsons ’89 ford probe, a vehicle with no cup holders. The case of Roy L. Pearson V Chung better known as the “pants lawsuit” which was a civil case filed in ‘2005. Pearson sued a D.C. dry cleaning establishment by the name of Custom Cleaners, for over $67 million for the loss of a pair of pants. The facts in the case state that the plaintiff left a pair of gray pants that probably could be extricated by a trio of belt loops on both sides of the front waist band. It appears there was a delay in providing the clothing due to plaintiff stating that the pants returned to him weren’t those submitted for service. As a result of the dispute the recourse taken by Custom Cleaners was to provide records and tags with proper documentation belonging to Pearson to resolve the issue at hand. Monetary play of $1,000.00 was the move Pearson made to Mr. Chung in order to rectify the dispute with the cleaners. This led to a refusal by the cleaner owner and Pearson filing a suit in the District of Columbia’s Superior Court. The Issues Presented The issues identified in case are third -degree medical burns from the coffee...
Words: 1840 - Pages: 8
...Critical Thinking in the Legal Environment: Torts and Product Liability Fall 2009 Introduction This assignment focuses on management skills that would be utilized in critical thinking in the legal environment specifically related to torts and product liability. A manager is constantly challenged with balancing responsibilities to the shareholders to make a profitable business and protecting the best interests of the employees and customers or end users of their products/services. This is especially challenging in large geographically diverse organizations, such as a McDonalds or car dealerships, where having statistical descriptive data, clear understanding of the policies, up and down the organization, and ensuring no significant information is being omitted is critical to running the company and avoiding lawsuits. A manager must be able to effectively analyze and evaluate data to make informed, intelligent decisions in many different situations. They need to be able to evaluate the reasons, without biases, in order to make sound decisions for the organization, as well as their employees and customers. There are lessons learned from the cases reviewed this week for managers related to critical thinking based on the two cases that are the focus of this paper, Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Custom Cleaners. . Liebeck vs. McDonalds As a very controversial tort case, Liebeck vs. McDonalds was a closely followed by the news and legal community. This...
Words: 3185 - Pages: 13
...The original case of George Spinner (represented by Housing and Urban Development (HUD)) vs. Reno Housing Authority centered on Mr. Spinner alleging that the Reno Housing Authority had not properly accommodated his handicap and had disallowed a deduction from his expected rent contribution. This specific deduction was a “medical” allowance that allowed Mr. Spinner to eat at a local restaurant for one of his meals per day. Mr. Spinner has a severe case of Tourette’s syndrome, and also has a patch over one eye. Medical professionals have stated that Mr. Spinner cannot safely prepare food over an open flame at home, and clearly an electric stovetop would also be dangerous to Mr. Spinner. It is also impossible for Mr. Spinner to keep his apartment clean and organized, so a cleaning crew cleans his apartment once a day. The key issue was that Mr. Spinner wanted to continue getting an allowance to keep eating at a restaurant one per day in the evening, so he could eat hot meals at night. This had been the arrangement when he lived in Tucson. Mr. Spinner had asked for a review of his expected rent contribution. He believed he was having trouble making ends meet, and he wanted more discretionary funds so he could eat at a restaurant in the evenings. Reno Housing Authority responded by increasing his expected contribution to rent (hence reducing his disposable income), but they offered to have a live-in assistant cook hot meals for him instead. Mr. Spinner didn’t want someone living...
Words: 1051 - Pages: 5
...Critical Thinking in the Legal Environment: Torts and Product Liability A Review of the Pearson v. Chung and Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants Lawsuits Executive Summary This paper will compare and contrast the legal and ethical factors surrounding the Liebeck v. McDonald’s and Pearson v. Chungs lawsuits all of which have been labeled frivolous. The first case is of Liebeck v. McDonald’s, Liebeck simply wanted a cup of coffee from McDonald’s. The second case of Pearson v. Chung, Pearson entrusted the care of his designer apparel to his local drycleaner. Should consumers stop trusting that companies have our best interest at heart and not their bottom line? Liebeck purchased a cup of coffee at the drive through of McDonald’s, the driver pulls to the side so she can add the sugar and cream. Maybe her mistake was putting the cup between her knees; perhaps there were no available cup holders. The cup tips over spilling the piping hot coffee all over her lap. McDonald’s is aware that the coffee they brew at over 190 degrees has burnt hundreds of consumers because they have settled more than $500,000 worth of complaints. Yet McDonald’s has refused this particular woman’s claim for her medical bills amounting to $11,000.00, forcing her to take legal action. Next, Pearson, a prominent attorney promoted to Administrative Law Judge in Washington D.C., excited about his newly acquired stature is eager to begin his job, which in turn requires him to wear a suit every day...
Words: 2692 - Pages: 11
...Case Analysis Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants Pearson v. Chung Introduction Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurant, also referred to as the “McDonald coffee case”, was a well known case in the United States of America in 1994 because it was considered frivolous. The case involved a woman Stella Lieback, who spilled the hot coffee she purchased from McDonald onto her lap and sustained a series of third degree burns, and was awarded millions of dollars from her lawsuit against McDonalds. The coffee was not only hot, but it was scalding, capable of immediate damage to the skin, flesh and muscle (Letric Law, 2011). In addition to the above case, the Pearson v. Chung case, also known as the “pants lawsuit”, was also a well known case in America in 2005 (Lexis-Nexis, 2008). This is a case where an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia had taken a pair of pants to the cleaners for alteration and dry cleaning; and sued the cleaners for $67 million dollars for the loss of his pants. The case was considered frivolous and became a flashpoint in the debate in the United States over tort reform (Lexis-Nexis, 2008). The major focus of this paper will be to critically analyze these two cases on the stated facts, the issues, the applicable laws, and the decision of the judge and the jury. What are the facts? There are some facts associated with Liebeck v. McDonald’s case. The woman involved in this case was 79-year old Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico,...
Words: 4178 - Pages: 17
...Today in Illinois, frivolous lawsuits are blocking the court system. Not only are they blocking the court system, but they are costing the state too much money. When you file a frivolous lawsuit, you are basically slowing down the court system. In Illinois, frivolous lawsuits can be avoided by limiting the amount of lawsuits one person could file yearly, putting a fine or deposit down before a case is started, or our state could hire a court to review the cases before the become active to see if they should not be settled. One thing Illinois could do to prevent frivolous lawsuits is that we could set a limit on how many lawsuits one person could file yearly. If this would happen, Illinois’ frivolous cases would majorly decrease. This new law would block people from entering cases that they are submitting only so they can get money. In my opinion, one person should only be entering 25-35 cases per year. If one person was to be filing more than this amount, it would be noted that they are just trying to gain money. Another way frivolous lawsuits could be avoided is to have the plaintiff pay a fine before the case is viewed. If this fine, or deposit, was enacted, less people would file the suit. By making people pay before the case, they might not file the case because they know they might lose. Most frivolous cases are filed because the person is just doing it for fun, or they just want to make money. Even if they still win the frivolous case, the person would have lost...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...McDonalds coffee and the Liebeck lawsuit •Osmond-Riba home •Elisabeth Riba home •Elisabeth Riba's Journal Writing > I've read recently that the McDonald's coffee lawsuit is back in the news again, being used as an example of frivolous lawsuits, irresponsible juries, excessive verdicts, a generally out-of-control legal system, and thus a justification for tort reform. However, after doing some research, I discovered that the case was hardly as unreasonable as people often make it out to be. I originally wrote this for Usenet several years ago; the links at the bottom of the essay may have expired. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- McDonalds coffee and the Liebeck lawsuit Lis Riba, 2000 Here are some facts about what really happened: At the trial, it was revealed: •McDonalds required their coffee kept at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 5 degrees, significantly higher than other establishments. [Coffee is usually served at 135 to 140 degrees] •An expert testified that 180 degree liquids will cause full thickness burns in 2 to 7 seconds. •McDonalds knew before this accident that burn hazards exist with any foods served above 140 degrees. •McDonalds knew that its coffee would burn drinkers at the temperature they served it. •McDonalds research showed that customers consumed coffee immediately while driving. •McDonalds knew of over 700 people burned by its...
Words: 643 - Pages: 3
...Risk Management 2301 Stella Liebeck VS McDonalds This case involves two parties; McDonalds and Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old female, was sitting in the passenger seat of her grandson’s car having just purchased a cup of McDonald’s coffee. After her grandson stopped the car, she tried to hold the cup securely between her knees while removing the lid. However, the cup tipped over, spilling boiling hot coffee onto her legs. She received third-degree burns on over 16 percent of her body, this required eight days of hospital care, whirlpool treatment for debridement of her wounds, skin grafting, scarring, and disability for more than two years. Despite these horrifically extensive injuries, she asked McDonald’s to settle her hospital bills of $20,000. However, McDonald’s refused to settle, they offered her a mere fraction of the required $20,000. McDonalds offered $800. The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages, which was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck to be twenty percent at fault and $2.7 million in punitive damages for McDonald’s callous conduct. (The judge was referring to the fact that; McDonald's revenue from coffee sales is in excess of $1.3 million a day.) The trial judge reduced the punitive damages to $480,000. Subsequently, the parties entered a post-verdict settlement. The case went on to be considered a frivolous lawsuit, which means the practice of starting or carrying on lawsuits that, due to their lack of legal merit,...
Words: 625 - Pages: 3
...Individual Assignment 2: Case Study Wardell Johnson AMBA 610 Professor M. Frank Introduction It takes constant work to ensure that any given system maintains order. The universe has a natural tendency to lead to entropy “a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder” (Merrim-webster.com). What guides Humanity to function in a society in concert with their fellow man? It’s the ability to set up laws to govern the actions of the members of said society. According to researchers Kubasek, Brennan, & Browne (2011) great minds have always debated the purpose of laws. For instance, Plato expressed that law is a form of social control, and Aristotle posited that law is a rule conduct, an ideal of reason (Kubasek et al., 2011). No matter what ones philosophical views are in regards to legal systems whether good or bad, laws help societies maintain a sense of order, setting and maintaining a sense of normalcy, in efforts to prevent societal entropy. In America the foundation of our legal system is based on the U.S. Constitution created the nation’s founding fathers to ensure every citizen equal access to justice. Liebeck v. McDonalds and Pearson v. Chung are two highly publicize cases of Tort law. “The primary goal of tort law is to compensate the innocent persons who are injured or whose property as result of another conduct (Kubasel et al 2011, p.309). Both of these cases involve people who wanted to turn to the American legal system to obtain justice...
Words: 2747 - Pages: 11
...relationships with customers and brokers. We look forward to leveraging the strengths and expertise of both organizations to deliver an expanded range of products and an even higher level of service." About Travelers The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV +0.11% is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately $26 billion in 2012. For more information, visit www.travelers.com. Forward-Looking Statements The statements in this press release regarding the anticipated benefits from the transaction are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: risks relating to pursuing new markets and opportunities, particularly in international markets; the risk that the acquisition and the integration of the acquired business may result in operating difficulties and other unintended consequences; and the risk that Travelers may not realize the anticipated benefits...
Words: 376 - Pages: 2
...3rd Quarter, FY 2013 Certain information contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care and workers’ compensation costs), rising costs associated with the acquisition of merchandise (including the direct and indirect effects of the rising cost of petroleum-based products and fuel and energy costs), geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements and information in the presentation are current only as of its date, and we do not undertake to subsequently...
Words: 689 - Pages: 3
...trends, the environment, and population (Shi & Singh, 2012, p. 9). This paper will discuss a significant event that has changed or affected health care today, explain how the historical evolution of health care was impacted, and assess the significant event based on personal values and beliefs. Significant Event’s Relation to Health Care Excessive litigation is one of the significant events affecting health care today. Litigation has become so popular that it has become specialized. Advertisements for litigations against health care facilities and professionals are placed on television, radios, Internet, and other information outlets, at frequent intervals. It is not unexpected to see or hear several of them throughout the day. Law firms have become specialized in trying health care related cases and focus on specific conditions. The result is that health care facilities close because of the financial burden of payments resulting from litigations, the amount paid for malpractice insurance rises, insurance premiums rise, and costs of health care increases because of the additional procedures ordered to try to prevent litigation (Satiani, 2004). The practice of defensive medicine is estimated to cost two and a half times average coverage cost and the estimated savings in tort reform is passed in 50 billion dollars (Santiani, 2004). These health care dollars can be used to improve health care practices by implementing efforts like...
Words: 971 - Pages: 4
