Frivolous Litigation: From Hot Coffee To Hot Potato Soup

It has been 20 years since Liebeck v McDonald's Restaurants, wherein a U.S. court in the state of New Mexico awarded the plaintiff $2.9 million after she accidently spilled hot coffee which she had just purchased from the fast food giant onto her lap. You may be more familiar with the case's other names, "The Hot Coffee Lawsuit" or "The McDonald's Coffee Case." For many this case was simply a classic example of a frivolous lawsuit, and was a shining example of the need for tort reform, especially in the U.S. with its spiralling damage awards.

After learning about the Liebeck case 20 years ago I can remember thinking to myself at the time (with all my youthful ignorance) that perhaps I will visit McDonald's and have my own hot coffee "accident." "That would never happen in Canada," I was told by someone older and much wiser. It was easy to simply pass Liebeck off as just another lawsuit in the highly litigious U.S. society. But are we immune to such frivolous