Business Law I: Analysis of Stella Awards and Legal Cases

This discussion post examines the concept of Stella Awards, which recognize outrageous and frivolous lawsuits. The author analyzes the Stella Liebeck case against McDonald's, where a woman sued after being burned by hot coffee, and the Robert Hornbeck case involving a hotel. The author argues that the Liebeck case does not belong in the Stella Awards category due to the severity of the burns and McDonald's negligence in failing to warn customers about the coffee's temperature, and also because of the company's knowledge of prior similar incidents. The author contrasts this with the Hornbeck case, which they believe does fit the category because the victim's actions contributed to the incident. The post discusses the legal implications of personal injury, negligence, and the appropriateness of large compensation amounts in different contexts, reflecting on the role of the courts in addressing such claims.

Running Head: STELLA AWARDS 1
Stella Awards
Name
Institution
Date of Submission

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Stella Liebeck case
Stella Awards involve outrageous and frivolous lawsuits. Most of these cases are bogus
and funny. Nevertheless, I believe injury caused to an individual due to negligence of another
person or an institution, qualifies to be a legal case. In the US, personal injury law is taken
seriously and can amount to greater charges. In my opinion, I believe Stella Liebeck was
justified to sue McDonald’s. This is because the brewing temperatures of 195 to 205 degrees
Fahrenheit are very high. To add insult to injury, they did not communicate to customers to take
necessary precaution (Malhotra, 2015). Additionally, the fact that McDonald’s quality assurance
manager knew the risk the coffee could cause and never took any action, it shows negligence.
Third-degree burns that Mrs. Liebeck sustained showed the severity of the damage caused hence
need for compensation. As such, the recovery of $640, 000 that she got was just (Forell, 2011).
This is because she had suffered both physically and mentally and also wasted her time while she
was recovering from the hospital. Similarly, the action acted as a warning to the company and
others that do not put into consideration the welfare of their clients.
Robert Hornbeck case
Hornbeck was a volunteer for the army in Iraq. One day, after getting drunk, he strolled
into the service area of a hotel. After crawling into an air conditioning unit, he was badly cut
after activation of the machinery. He later bled to death since he was very drunk and couldn’t
take care of himself. His family sued the hotel and awarded $10 million compensatory charges
(Randy, 2010). I believe Hornbeck case fits into the category of Stella Awards. This is because
the hotel had warning signs, but due to his drunkenness he never took heed. Also, he was guilty
for criminal trespassing and irresponsible behavior. Climbing to a heavy duty machinery is
dangerous and is not recommended. Given that Hornbeck had undergone military training, he

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was expected to be a responsible law-abiding citizen (Randy, 2010). Therefore, it was unfair for
the jury to ask the hotel to compensate for the death of someone who broke the law and brought
tragedy to himself. The family could have argued that they lost a loved one and the hotel could
have put strict precautionary measures. Nevertheless, I believe the hotel was not responsible for
his death.
Stella Liebeck Case and Stella Awards Category
I believe that Stella Liebeck case does not belong to the Stella Awards category. This is
because Stella Awards usually involve bogus cases where people are seeking to take advantage
of others. However, this lady had genuine reasons to seek legal intervention has she underwent
trauma due to burns caused by the hot coffee from McDonalds (Malhotra, 2015). Additionally,
she used huge amounts of money for treatment which needed to be compensated. Failure of
McDonalds to sensitize people on the possible risk of burns from the hot coffee, makes them
guilty. Also, given that there were over 700 reported cases of people burnt by the hot coffee and
no action taken by the management, gave enough reasons for Liebeck to receive compensation
(Allison, 2015).

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References
Allison, T. B. (2015). Liebeck versus McDonald’s. Accessed September, 25, 2010 from
https://www.tortmuseum.org/liebeck-v-mcdonalds/
Forell, C. (2011). McTorts: The Social and Legal Impact of McDonald's Role in Tort Suits. Loy.
Consumer L. Rev., 24, 105.
Malhotra, N. (2015). An Empirical Analysis of “Tort Tales” How Cultural Memes Influence
Attitudes on Tort Reform. Journal of Law and Courts, 3(1), 149-166.
Randy, C. (2010). The 2007 True Stella Awards Winners. Accessed February, 1, 2008 from
https://stellaawards.com/winners-2007/