Caution: HBO's Documentary On McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit A Hot Topic
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The highly-anticipated, compelling HBO documentary, Hot Coffee, which premiered on June 27th and is scheduled to re-air during the next several weeks, is brewing up a great deal of chatter among legal professionals, film critics and journalists.
The 90 minute film chronicles the story of Stella Liebeck, the elderly woman who became unintentionally famous when she purchased a 49-cent cup of hot coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through window in 1992.
Liebeck accidentally spilled the cup of coffee on her lap, and as a result, suffered severe
third degree burns and became the subject of a product liability lawsuit in 1994.
Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants captured the nation’s attention and became a highlight in America’s contested debate over tort reform.
The jury ultimately decided in favor of Liebeck and awarded her an initial verdict of $2.86 million.
Hot Coffee, directed by former plaintiffs’ public interest attorney, Susan Saladoff, has received mixed reviews and inspired various discussions and debates across cyberspace.
Patrick G. Lee, of Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, points out that some of the film’s critics believe that the documentary "misrepresents the current state of America’s justice system by making it seem as if the average citizen now has drastically reduced access to courts."
On his firm’s LaBovick Injury Law Blog, Attorney Brian F. LaBovick of Florida encourages people to watch the film because the future of our justice system is heavily predicated on public knowledge and discussion. He also believes that the documentary successfully engages people on both sides of the tort reform debate.
Beasley Allen, an Alabama-based law firm, references the documentary and the Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case in their legal news post, ‘Tort reform harms us all.’ In this piece, the blog's author argues that the tort reform movement is a disservice to many in that it gives corporations power over individuals and their rights to trial. The blog poses the thought-provoking question- "Big business interests have managed to win the hearts and minds of average people. How?"
Hot Coffee debuted at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January.
To view the film’s trailer, read a synopsis and check broadcast times, please visit HBO’s Hot Coffee web page: http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/hot-coffee/index.html
