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A ju umpire in Los Angeles County says Starbucks will be liable to $50 million for injuries to customers who were burned during a drive-thru handoff.
LA resident Michael Garcia claimed that the hot tea tray was burned badly in 2020 after “falling into itself,” he said in the deposit. First, then another hot drink falls over his lap, their lids pop out. He claimed he suffered severe burns, including his genitals.
Garcia accused Starbucks of negligence and created a security video for the store that appears to show one of the bench-sized drinks sat in the tray as the barista walked through the drive-through window.
The ju umpire on Friday agreed and ordered the Seattle-based company to pay Garcia $50 million for past and future damages, including pain and suffering.
Starbucks said it plans to appeal the verdict.
“We have sympathy for Garcia, but we oppose the ju-degree decision that we are at fault for this case and believe that the damages awarded are excessive,” Jaci Anderson, director of corporate communications at Starbucks, said in a statement of the times. “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including handling hot drinks.”
The award returns to a civil court ruling against McDonald’s after a 1994 ju-degree awarded $3 million to an Albuquerque woman who was poured over hot coffee. Stella Leebeck, 79, suffered from three degrees of burns requiring multiple skin grafts. Her lawyers claimed McDonald’s had a history of hundreds of consumer injury complaints.
The judge later reduced the award significantly, but McDonald’s lawsuit was frequently cited in the campaign to restrict tort prizes.
Garcia’s lawyer did not immediately reply to a request for comment, but told another news outlet that Starbucks was somehow responsible for the barista’s actions.
“This ju-search verdict is an important step in holding Starbucks accountable for not underestimating their clients’ safety and not accepting responsibility,” said Nick Lowry, one of Garcia’s lawyers, who was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
The incident mentioned in the lawsuit occurred on February 8, 2020 at the Starbucks Drive-Thru in Expo Park. Garcia, a 25-year-old postal driver at the time, had picked up three orders of Venti Hot Tea. They were served him with cardboard drink carriers.
At one point during the handoff, two teas fell from the carrier and spilled on Garcia’s lap, leaving him with the gro caliber “a horrible burn that requires multiple surgeries” and “a permanent appearance that would damage the gro diameter. Medical records raised in the case show that he underwent two skin grafts, suffering permanent pain and sexual dysfunction.
Garcia condemned the barista spill, claiming that he “didn’t secure the lids of each hot drink that had been neglected, careless and recklessly served the plaintiff.” He testified that he could see one of the drinks not having a lid installed from the beginning.
In the initial response, Starbucks alleged that Garcia had not maintained any injuries, damages or losses by the employee due to the cause of conduct or omission, court documents said.
During the trial, the company further alleged that Garcia had some negligence as a result of “contribution negligence,” the documents said.
Before the ju trial, Starbucks provided Garcia with $3 million and later $30 million to settle it, CBS News reported.
Garcia has agreed to the condition that the company apologises and changes its policy. This includes adding that all employees will reaffirm that they will provide customers with the requirement that hot drinks be safe, the CBS report states. Starbucks rejected the terms and the lawsuit went to trial.
Muriel Evans, a resident of South Los Angeles, filed a similar lawsuit against Starbucks in 2024, alleging that the barista had severe nerve damage and impaired the appearance after she cleaned up her coffee and spilled it on her knees. The case’s lawyers accused Starbucks of “recklessly ignoring” the safety of their clients by serving hot drinks in flawed cups “despite countless reports and warnings.”
Evans’ ju trial is scheduled for February 2026.
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