ChrisA said:
The hot coffee lawsuit was not frivolous. The company had a policy for proper "serving temperature" that was safe but the store manager intentionally served it hotter to reduce the demand for re-fills and save a few pennies. He was trained not to do it but did it anyway. This is the very definition of "negligent" when you are told "don't do this because someone will get hurt" and then you intentionally do it. (the coffee machine was not broken, it was re-adjusted to be way to hot, near boiling)
The woman spilled it on herself. Its her fault. People need to take responsibility for their own actions.
The lawsuit was definitely frivolous.
Its like trying to sue a gun manufacturer because you shot yourself in the foot. Sure the gun may have been more powerful than what the seller told you it was but in the end you still shot yourself.
That being said I understand your point about the manager making the machine hotter than it should be, but I still don't believe its grounds to sue since the actual cause of the incident was the old lady spilling it on herself.
