McLawsuits! (McDonald's Related Lawsuits.) Quiz

Answer: Hot Coffee

Stella Liebeck was a passenger in a car being driven by her grandson when she placed the coffee cup between her knees and tried to remove the lid (to add cream and sugar) and the hot coffee spilled into her lap. Ms. Liebeck suffered third-degree burns from the hot coffee spill and underwent skin grafting for her injuries.

She asked McDonald'sŪ for medical costs, but was turned down and filed her lawsuit against the company. The jury, after testimony from both sides showing the corporation heated its coffee to 20 degrees above industry standard and had been made aware of the risk by over 700 prior coffee burn related incidents, found in favor of Ms. Liebeck. Ms. Liebeck was awarded both compensatory and punitive damages, but her punitive damages were later reduced by the judge (even though the judge found McDonald's to be at fault).

The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in August of 1994.

Answer: French Fries and Hash Browns

A class-action law suit filed on May 1, 2001 in the King County Superior Court of the State of Washington by a Seattle lawyer representing Hindus and vegetarians contended that McDonald's did not disclose its use of beef tallow in its french fry cooking process. McDonald's stopped frying its french fries in beef fat in 1990 and, instead, began using vegetable oil.

However, the company continued to use a small amount of beef flavoring in processing their potato products before they reached American restaurants. Hindus regard the cow as a sacred animal, and, as a general rule, do not eat beef. Vegetarians are against eating most, if not all, meats and meat products.

The lawsuit alleged McDonald's violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act and sought unspecified damages for both the alleged violation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit (which then consisted of a consolidation of several class action lawsuits from across the United States) was settled in June of 2002.

As part of the settlement agreement, each named claimant received $11,000 and McDonald's agreed to issue a public apology and donate a total of $10 million to various organizations. The court approved the final list of recipients on May 19, 2003. However, several vegetarian organizations objected to how McDonald's was allocating the $6 million earmarked for vegetarian organizations and filed an appeal in November of 2003. The settlement, and final recipients and allocation, was upheld by the Illinois Court of Appeals on March 31, 2005.

Answer: Cancer

Mr. Lockyer filed the lawsuit against McDonald's Corp. and eight other potato chip and french fry makers for failure to warn California consumers, under California's Proposition 65, that their products may contain a cancer-causing chemical known as acrylamide. Acrylamide is a byproduct of foods cooked at high heat and has been found at low levels in a wide variety of foods.

The lawsuit sought warning requirements for potato chips and french fries because they tend to have higher levels of acrylamide than other foods.

Answer: Cancer

The Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) sued McDonald's, along with six other restaurants, seeking to require the restaurants to warn consumers, under California's Proposition 65, that their grilled chicken contained a carcinogenic compound called PhIP. PhIP belongs in a group of carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are found in grilled meats.

Answer: French Fries

McDonald's made the acknowledgment after new rules were instituted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that required any common allergens like milk, eggs, wheat, fish, or peanuts that were present in packaged foods had to be reported. Those with autism and celiac disease (as well as other autoimmune diseases) should avoid gluten, a protein found in wheat.

Many people also have dairy allergies. Before its acknowledgment, the company had said its fries were free of gluten and milk products.

Answer: Obesity

Spurred by a lawsuit filed in New York against McDonald's, the House initially passed such a bill in March of 2004 (by 276 to 139), but it stalled in the Senate. In October of the following year, the House again passed a bill (by 307 to 119) known as "The Cheeseburger Bill," barring lawsuits against the food industry for causing obesity.

At least 21 states have passed similar legislation.

Answer: Trans Fats

Heart-clogging trans fat is made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil - a process called hydrogenation. In September 2002, McDonald's announced it would lower trans fat in its cooking oils within in five months. In February 2003, McDonald's announced a delay. BanTransFats.com, a nonprofit advocacy group, sued McDonald's in California state court in 2003, alleging the company had never effectively made it known to the public that the switch had not occurred.

The parties agreed to a settlement on August 26, 2005.

Answer: A Pickle

In her lawsuit, Veronica Martin of Knoxville, Tennessee claimed that a hot pickle that had fallen from her burger caused a second-degree burn on her chin. The case was settled, but McDonald's admitted no liability and maintained its product was safe.

Answer: The driver of another car spilled his shake, which distracted the other driver and caused him to hit Mr. Carter's car.

While driving with a milkshake between his legs, a McDonald's customer spilled the drink in his lap when trying to reach into his bag of food. The spill distracted him, and he hit the car in front of him (which was being driven by John Carter). Mr. Carter sued McDonald's claiming that they should have told the man who had hit him that it was dangerous to eat while driving.

The lawsuit was unsuccessful.

Answer: H. R. Pufnstuf

The court found in favor of the Kroffts, and McDonald's was ordered to pay them $50,000. However, upon appeal and remand, McDonald's was ordered to pay the Kroffts more than $1 million.