Court Orders Starbucks to Pay $50 Million
to Man Whose Genitals Were Scorched by
Hot Beverages
Breitbart,
by
Katherine Hamilton
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac,
3/16/2025 9:33:23 AM
A court ordered Starbucks on Friday to pay $50 million in damages to a delivery driver who was severely burned by spilled beverages, CNN reported.
The jury in California sided with Michael Garcia, who was picking up drinks in a drive-through in Los Angeles when he was handed beverages with improperly secured lids. According to the lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court in 2020, he “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals when hot drinks ultimately spilled” on his lap.
The lawsuit ultimately accused the coffee chain of breaching its duty of care by not securing the lids, according to the report.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Newtsche 3/16/2025 9:38:27 AM (No. 1915382)
Jackie Chiles esq.?
14 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
JackBurton 3/16/2025 9:46:09 AM (No. 1915385)
Was the jury shown pictures of the 'disfigurement'? How bad was it?
12 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 3/16/2025 9:51:49 AM (No. 1915388)
I don't care about Starbucks, but this is ridiculous and will be lowered or overturned on appeal. This is what trial lawyers do. Look for the dumbest in the jury pool that they think can be manipulated.
35 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
red1066 3/16/2025 9:57:31 AM (No. 1915392)
No wonder Starbucks coffee costs over seven dollars. This was all Starbucks fault? The guy in the vehicle didn't have any responsibility in reaching for the coffee? Maybe he was parked too far from the window. People have become too lazy. Get out of your car, go into the store, and secure the lid to your overpriced coffee yourself.
27 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
czechlist 3/16/2025 10:06:25 AM (No. 1915397)
He'll be lucky to get $1M after appeal. the lawyers will get more.
18 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
paral04 3/16/2025 10:21:07 AM (No. 1915402)
50$ million for that part of his anatomy. It had to have been some specimen of manhood to get that price. Did they show before and after pictures to the Court? That would have been interesting if they had.
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
JrSample 3/16/2025 10:33:53 AM (No. 1915412)
From now on they should only offer cold coffee in California.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Quigley 3/16/2025 10:34:04 AM (No. 1915413)
That's something that is physically impossible to happen to a Dim of any persuasion.
11 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Jesuslover54 3/16/2025 10:41:43 AM (No. 1915416)
Why not award him a BILLION dollars?
9 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
DVC 3/16/2025 10:56:22 AM (No. 1915428)
What a total crock, miscarriage of tort process.
15 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Historybuff 3/16/2025 11:01:57 AM (No. 1915430)
A whole new meaning to the term "Tea Bagging".
8 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Hazymac 3/16/2025 11:05:35 AM (No. 1915432)
Absolutely ridiculous jury reward. Coffee is brewed and goes into the (paper) cup at about 193 F. Anyone who puts it between his legs without being certain that the lid is firmly on risks getting his privates scorched. Mr. Michael Garcia is not a bright man. Neither should he become a rich man for his stupidity.
21 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 3/16/2025 11:08:54 AM (No. 1915434)
Doesn't this guy bear any responsibility to look out for his own personal safety? Starbucks should move out of California in response. It's impossible to do business there.
12 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 3/16/2025 11:11:47 AM (No. 1915437)
Another case of money mining. A total joke.
14 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 3/16/2025 11:18:07 AM (No. 1915442)
Did I ever mention how much I despise ambulance chasers, judges and juries?
13 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
rikkitikki 3/16/2025 11:21:49 AM (No. 1915444)
$50mm?
The size of that payout reminds me of the old joke: we've already established what you are, we're just haggling over the price.
7 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
slipstik 3/16/2025 11:23:03 AM (No. 1915447)
Anybody SO STUPID as to tuck a paper cup of HOT coffee with a plastic lid into his crotch should be laughed out of court and charged all legal expenses and court costs. With luck, this guy is no longer capable of procreating...I hope.
11 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
hershey 3/16/2025 11:29:11 AM (No. 1915451)
Oh oh here we go...a redux of the lady with the squisched coffee cup from MacDonalds...some people just never learn...don't put a flimsy coffee cup near your privates....it's just plain stupid...unless you're looking for a payday...
9 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
lynngirl122 3/16/2025 11:53:01 AM (No. 1915463)
Actually Starbucks coffee is waaayy too hot .
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
udanja99 3/16/2025 1:07:27 PM (No. 1915497)
The article doesn’t state how, exactly, the coffee spilled. Did he drop it? If so, it’s his fault. Did he place the cup between his legs? Again, his fault. I can’t remember the last time I saw a car that didn’t have cup holders.
I don’t go to Starbucks but, if I do stop somewhere for coffee, I always double check that the lid is on securely after the coffee is handed to me. Common sense.
10 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Petronius 3/16/2025 1:20:06 PM (No. 1915503)
Great Balls of Fire!
15 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Sunhan65 3/16/2025 1:49:26 PM (No. 1915514)
Talk about pulling someone's chestnuts out of the fire!
(But I concede #21 above wins this thread).
6 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
BarryNo 3/16/2025 2:25:32 PM (No. 1915531)
Will be appealed because the award was excessive.
4 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
rememberwhen 3/16/2025 2:28:43 PM (No. 1915532)
There was a similar case where a woman sued McDonald's years ago and got a similarly ridiculous award.
4 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 3/16/2025 3:15:15 PM (No. 1915544)
“Courts” are about to wear out their welcome.
1 person likes this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
judy 3/16/2025 3:16:21 PM (No. 1915546)
I can’t manage to get warm coffee…..
3 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
chumley 3/16/2025 5:20:47 PM (No. 1915590)
Boy. With a payout like that he could buy Starbucks coffee every day for weeks.
1 person likes this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
JimBob 3/16/2025 5:57:35 PM (No. 1915610)
#21 WINS THE INTERNET
other than that:
-Headline writer, go to school!! The correct word is Scalded, not Scorched!
-The stupid amount makes the headline, the actual amount will be greatly reduced on appeal.
-I wonder how much Mr. 'Balls of Fire' will finally receive, and how much will wind up in the pockets of the lawyers and the legal system. Anyone know what the final outcome of the 'McDonald's Coffee Woman' was?
1 person likes this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
broken01 3/17/2025 8:24:35 AM (No. 1915834)
#28 I read a while ago about the case of the woman who sued McDonalds over hot coffee spilling in her lap. The compact car (89 Ford Probe) she was in didn't have cup holders. Stella Liebeck won 2.9 million in punitive and 200 grand in compensatory damages but the judge in the case reduced both to 480 grand and 160 grand for a total of 640 grand which was contested by both parties. McDonald's and Liebeck wound up settling out of court for an undisclosed amount. She died in 2004 at the age of 91 and McDonald's coffee temps were vastly lowered to what they are now. As far as Starbucks goes. When I do get coffee from a place like that, they are the very last choice for me due to their leftist stance on things. Such as their past treatment of military, law enforcement and first responders in uniform.
1 person likes this.
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