...Frivolous Lawsuits: A Comparison of the McDonalds Case and the Pearson Case Michelle DeWald University of Maryland University College Introduction “When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty. When there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace. Where there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice.” - Lin Yu-Tang Chinese Writer and Inventor Suing companies in hopes of accumulating big money is popular in today’s society. However, many people get immensely creative with their claims, creating lawsuits over 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...
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...A Frivolous Lawsuit is a case where people sue big corporations in the hopes of making a large sum of money. Many of these stories sound like absurd urban legends. Surprisingly, many of these ridiculous stories are true. In many cases, the person who is suing a corporation gets overly creative with their allegations and they create lawsuits which get thrown out. However, other cases such as Liebeck v. McDonald's go further. In February 1992, an 80 year old woman named Stella Liebeck ordered a cup of coffee from McDonald’s to go. When the incident occurred, she was sitting in her nephew's car, that was pulled over so she could add sugar to her coffee. When Liebeck removed the lid of the cup she spilled her hot coffee on herself. She suffered...
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...clauses. Everybody is attempting to shuffle an easy buck of the judicial system and generally they are doing a good job. Individuals suing all the time and winning extensive entireties of cash in court with absurd cases have worn down the underlying goodness of lawsuits. Along these lines, the potential for lawsuits to better the economy has dependably been there; be that as it may, the control of it and obvious cases of eagerness have debased its once honorable expectations to distraction individuals into examining the authenticity of each case. I think for this situation it would appear that anything goes and our law system promotes negligible laws. I think this would even fall into the categorization of trivial in light of the fact that the espresso was spilt by the offended party onto herself and not by the worker of where she purchased her espresso, and everybody realizes that espresso is hot! I think this case brand American considers our legal system and how far individuals can really go. . Frivolous is defined as a lawsuit that has no justification or merit. It is a case of evidence from one private gather against another. Components to consider prior to filing a lawsuit are: for a law suit to be classified as frivolous according to the law there must be no legal justification for delivery the suit and no conceivable law on which the suit could be based. Ethical thoughtfulness encompassing such law suits in the healthcare scene of action are that we must know and be aware of...
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...as maintain order when it has gotten out of order (Llewellyn, 213),” they are also be used to punish the most minor crimes and torts. Each year, about 18 million to 30 million civil cases are considered in both federal and state courts (Pflepsen). Moreover, the United States of America has more than 70 percent of the lawyers in the entire world with half of them doing what non-lawyers do in the other parts of this world (Pflepsen). Yet, the mere fact that the United States has more than a third of the entire world’s lawyers shows that there is a high demand for litigation services, as demonstrated by the number of civil cases that are brought to federal and state courts. Some people have different views toward this previously mentioned lawsuit numbers. Given that there are different varieties of crimes that people can be punished in courts for, such as assault and battery, false imprisonment,...
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...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 case has been used as an example demonstrating a need for tort reform in the legal system. It started out seeming a simple frivolous lawsuit that was going to waste the court’s and jury’s time. It seemed clear that Liebeck was negligent in not exercising caution in handling her coffee but in the end, it was “found that MdDonald’s was 80% responsible for the incident, while Liebeck was 20% at...
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...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 in the area of torts. The case of Liebeck vs. McDonalds: Relentlessly controversial in nature, this case continued to be the answer to the journalists’ prayer until it was settled. Liebeck vs. McDonalds aroused the interest of both the media and legal community and held public attention for its lifetime. Initially, the case took off like most frivolous lawsuits in which the...
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...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...
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...Organizations need to adopt alternative dispute resolution measures when faced with liability issues. The belief was informed by the need to protect the image of the organization and to reduce the amount of time and financial costs that will be involved in the course of the dispute (Kyle, 2014). In addition, the move is prudent in instances where the organization is clearly facing the possibility of losing. However, an evaluation of the issue demonstrates that none of those factors are at play. Consequently, Good Grocer should opt for a litigation process in solving the dispute. Although the fact that the injured woman is a media personality would expose the retailer to negative publicity, the organization would eventually win the court based on an examination of the facts of the case. First, the banana in question is still yellow. Consequently, it is highly unlikely for that the banana caused the woman to fall. Second, the lady was wearing high heels. The organization can easily find evidence that demonstrates that women wearing high heels have a lot of difficulties moving from one place to another. The facts involved show that there is a high possibility that the woman tripped over a ribbed rubber mat. As a result, the organization would not be liable for the injuries that she had incurred. In order to be successful in the litigation process, the organization needs to adhere to diligence. First, the legal department will have to investigate the issue. The move will enable...
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...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, have little to no chance of being won. In addition, this is the reason that the case received so much attention, it was a prime example of how people exploit Americas legal system. The attention was gained through disbelief and the first ridiculous case of its kind. As a result of this case many changes took place on the behalf of McDonalds to ensure such a “frivolous case” never took place...
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...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...
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...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,...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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