[JoJo Gunn]

How ironic you should bring up comedians.

Coffee has been served hot for decade after decade. And all of a sudden some scumbag ambulance chaser introduces such insanity as the McDonald's suit into the courts.

Please, remind me why I should have sympathy for that old fool, much less the lawyers and the judge who allowed such fantastic nonsense to begin with.

[AppyPappy]

And all of a sudden some scumbag ambulance chaser introduces such insanity as the McDonald's suit into the courts.

If you look at the case, the McDonald's employee practically threw it in her lap.

[JohnSmithee]

"Coffee has been served hot for decade after decade."

Those hot apple pies used to scare me as a kid. Talk about hot! The coffee never seemed that bad though.

[MattAMiller]

Coffee has been served hot for decade after decade.

I don't brew my coffee hot enough to cause third-degree burns. And I expect any coffee I purchase to be that hot.

Please, remind me why I should have sympathy for that old fool,...

Because she purchased coffee with the expectation that it would be fit for human consumption. As it turned out it wasn't even fit for contact with human tissue.

[Snidely Whiplash]

Please, remind me why I should have sympathy for that old fool, much less the lawyers and the judge who allowed such fantastic nonsense to begin with.

Just the facts here:

1. The coffee in question was near-boiling, despite numberous (like 700) previous reports and warnings to McD's that they were serving their coffee Too Damned Hot. Coffee outta your coffee maker, which feels boiling, is really only about 140F, which isn't hot enough to cause serious, significant injury. The coffee in question was more like 190F. McD's reps testified in open court that the company required that the coffee be kept that hot, even though they knew damned well that doing so could cause severe injury.

2. The plaintiff sustained 3rd-degree burns, not internal injuries, to her crotchular area and legs, which required debridement and skin grafts.

3. The plaintiff in the case actually asked McD's to settle before trial for like $20K, but they refused.

4. The jury found the plaintiff 20% at fault, and awarded her $160K in actual damages, plus $2.7M in punitive damages, roughly equivalent to 2 days' coffee sales for McDonald's. The punitive award was later reduced to $480,000. An out-of-court settlement was eventually reached, which remains secret.

Snidely