LOS ANGELES (CN) — An LA County jury on Friday ordered Starbucks to pay $50 million to a Postmates driver who dropped scalding hot tea on his lap, causing third-degree burns and permanently disfiguring his penis.

In 2020, Michael Garcia was picking up an order of three venti-sized “medicine balls” — secret menu items made from a mix of steamed lemonade and two different teas — from a drive-thru Starbucks window in South Los Angeles. One of the drinks, he said, was “negligently” unsecured in its cardboard drink carrier, causing it to spill in his lap shortly after he took the order inside the car. In his complaint, Garcia said he “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals” as a result of the spill. He was taken to the emergency room by paramedics.

Garcia was later treated at the renowned Grossman Burn Center, where he received not one but two skin grafts on his penis. Garcia’s attorney, Trial Lawyers for Justice co-founder Nick Rowley, said Garcia’s penis was permanently discolored and disfigured, with less length and less girth. He is now unable to have a complete or sustained erection, and any friction during sex or masturbation causes pain.

“One of the most pleasurable experiences in life has been changed to pain,” Rowley said. “It’s an awful, awful injury.” He added: “He’s a different person. This will affect every facet of his life.”

A spokesperson for Starbucks called the award “excessive” and said the company would appeal.

“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” said Starbucks Director of Corporate Communications Jaci Anderson in an email. “We plan to appeal. We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”

Upon hearing that statement, Rowley replied: “They’re a bunch of idiots. They don’t have a chance in hell at getting this verdict reduced.”

Rowley said the key evidence during the trial was the surveillance footage of the incident taken from inside the coffee shop. Rowley said the footage clearly showed the barista secure two of the cups in the caddie but not the third, causing it to spill less than two seconds after Garcia took it into the car.

“The video showed that Michal did nothing wrong,” Rowley said. “It showed on video the drink wasn’t properly secured.”

The trial was bifurcated into two phases. After a weeklong liability trial, the jury deliberated for 40 minutes before finding Starbucks liable for the accident. After another week on the damages phase, the jury deliberated for a little over two hours before coming up with the $50 million verdict, which could climb to $60 million when interest and attorneys fees are factored in. Rowley had asked the jury for $120 million. Three of the jurors, Rowley said, pushed for that amount.

Rowley also said Starbucks offered to settle the case before trial for $3 million. On Tuesday, after it had been found liable, the company increased its offer to $30 million but wanted the amount to remain confidential. Garcia declined.

The case and verdict bring to mind the infamous 1992 lawsuit against McDonald’s, in which 79-year-old Stella Liebeck sued the fast food giant after she spilled hot coffee in her lap. The scalding coffee caused third-degree burns over 16% of Liebeck’s body and led to an 8-day hospital stay.

A jury found McDonald’s 80% at fault and awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. A judge reduced the award to $480,000 and the parties settled for a confidential sum reported to be less than $500,000.

Liebeck’s cause stirred a national debate on excessive jury awards and the responsibility of corporations to keep their customers safe.

Michael Garcia was picking up drinks at a drive-through in Los Angeles when he “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals when hot drinks ultimately spilled” onto his lap, according to the lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in 2020. The lawsuit accused Starbucks of breaching its duty of care by failing to secure the lid.

Michael Parker, Garcia’s lawyer, said his client was picking up three beverages and one of the hot drinks wasn’t fully pushed into the container. When the barista handed Garcia the order, a drink fell out of the container and onto Garcia, Parker said.

Garcia’s damages included physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress, according to a recording of the verdict from Courtroom View Network.

Starbucks said it plans to appeal the verdict.

“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”

The lawsuit is reminiscent of a famous 1994 lawsuit against McDonald’s in which a woman spilled hot coffee on her lap and suffered third-degree burns. The plaintiff in that case, Stella Liebeck, was originally awarded nearly $3 million.

LOS ANGELES (CN) — An LA County jury on Friday ordered Starbucks to pay $50 million to a Postmates driver who dropped scalding hot tea on his lap, causing third-degree burns and permanently disfiguring his penis.

In 2020, Michael Garcia was picking up an order of three venti-sized “medicine balls” — secret menu items made from a mix of steamed lemonade and two different teas — from a drive-thru Starbucks window in South Los Angeles. One of the drinks, he said, was “negligently” unsecured in its cardboard drink carrier, causing it to spill in his lap shortly after he took the order inside the car. In his complaint, Garcia said he “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals” as a result of the spill. He was taken to the emergency room by paramedics.

Garcia was later treated at the renowned Grossman Burn Center, where he received not one but two skin grafts on his penis. Garcia’s attorney, Trial Lawyers for Justice co-founder Nick Rowley, said Garcia’s penis was permanently discolored and disfigured, with less length and less girth. He is now unable to have a complete or sustained erection, and any friction during sex or masturbation causes pain.

“One of the most pleasurable experiences in life has been changed to pain,” Rowley said. “It’s an awful, awful injury.” He added: “He’s a different person. This will affect every facet of his life.”

A spokesperson for Starbucks called the award “excessive” and said the company would appeal.

“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” said Starbucks Director of Corporate Communications Jaci Anderson in an email. “We plan to appeal. We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”

Upon hearing that statement, Rowley replied: “They’re a bunch of idiots. They don’t have a chance in hell at getting this verdict reduced.”

Rowley said the key evidence during the trial was the surveillance footage of the incident taken from inside the coffee shop. Rowley said the footage clearly showed the barista secure two of the cups in the caddie but not the third, causing it to spill less than two seconds after Garcia took it into the car.

“The video showed that Michal did nothing wrong,” Rowley said. “It showed on video the drink wasn’t properly secured.”

The trial was bifurcated into two phases. After a weeklong liability trial, the jury deliberated for 40 minutes before finding Starbucks liable for the accident. After another week on the damages phase, the jury deliberated for a little over two hours before coming up with the $50 million verdict, which could climb to $60 million when interest and attorneys fees are factored in. Rowley had asked the jury for $120 million. Three of the jurors, Rowley said, pushed for that amount.

Rowley also said Starbucks offered to settle the case before trial for $3 million. On Tuesday, after it had been found liable, the company increased its offer to $30 million but wanted the amount to remain confidential. Garcia declined.

The case and verdict bring to mind the infamous 1992 lawsuit against McDonald’s, in which 79-year-old Stella Liebeck sued the fast food giant after she spilled hot coffee in her lap. The scalding coffee caused third-degree burns over 16% of Liebeck’s body and led to an 8-day hospital stay.

A jury found McDonald’s 80% at fault and awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. A judge reduced the award to $480,000 and the parties settled for a confidential sum reported to be less than $500,000.

Liebeck’s cause stirred a national debate on excessive jury awards and the responsibility of corporations to keep their customers safe.

Los Angeles, CA – A California state court jury found Starbucks liable on Wednesday for severe burns a Postmates driver suffered while picking up a drive-through order, and the full trial was webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.

The jury found Starbucks entirely responsible for plaintiff Michael Garcia’s injuries, assigning him no liability in the first phase of the bifurcated trial after 40 minutes of deliberation and setting up a second phase to determine damages next week to compensate for burns to his thighs and genitals. 

In a brief liability phase that only lasted two days, Garcia’s attorney Nick Rowley of Trial Lawyers for Justice told the Los Angeles County jury that the barista working the window failed to properly secure one of the hot drinks in the takeout container, however Starbucks unsuccessfully maintained the spill only occurred after Garcia had total physical control of the beverages.

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Rowley delivered a “hands on” opening statement with Garcia seated directly next to him, at times interacting with Garcia to recreate the act of handing a tray of drinks through a car window.

Rowley told jurors Starbucks had a documented corporate policy that drinks must be fully secured in a tray, and he said surveillance video from inside the drive-through clearly showed one of the three cups not fully placed in the container.

He also rejected arguments from Starbucks that having an unrestrained dog in the car contributed to Garcia’s injuries, stressing it wasn’t in violation of any local ordinance and that it shouldn’t affect how a Starbucks employee does their job.

“This young man did nothing to cause this to happen,” Rowley insisted. “Nothing at all.”

Representing Starbucks, Stephen Pelletier of Price Pelletier LLP disputed Rowley’s characterizing of the surveillance video, instead telling jurors that an accident reconstruction expert determined Garcia was in full control of the drinks when they spilled.

He argued Garcia had made similar orders countless times before, knew he would be holding scalding hot beverages, and should have taken the same care that he supposedly used every time prior.

Pelletier defended the training Starbucks employees undergo, and he said their actions that day all complied with those standards.

“In this case, the handoff was successful and it must be evaluated from the point where the drinks are moved from the counter all the way to point where the drink spilled,” Pelletier explained.

The trial is taking place before Judge Frederick Shaller.

The case is captioned Michael Garcia v. Starbucks Corporation, case number 20STCV10214 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.