Hot Coffee — Friday, September 28
Friday, September 28
6:00 pm
Otis Library
261 Main Street, Norwich
Attorney Christopher Anderson will lead a discussion following the screening.
Donations welcomed
What is the most famous legal case in American history? Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade? Ask anyone in the U.S. or abroad and they will likely tell you about a woman who spilled coffee on herself and collected millions of dollars. The McDonald’s coffee case became the poster child for so-called “frivolous” lawsuits in America. But if this case was so ridiculous, why did a jury award $2.9 million to this 79-year-old after a seven-day trial in 1994? Didn’t McDonald’s have good lawyers? And how did this case gain such notoriety and remain in the minds of so many people after so many years?
The McDonald’s coffee case has been routinely cited by the media as an example of how citizens have taken advantage of the legal system. In this documentary, you will learn what really happened to Stella, meet her grandson, who was driving the car, and hear from her doctor, the lawyers, and the jurors. Was the media’s portrayal of this case fair or was there an agenda by tort-reform groups to create a public perception that lawsuits were out of control. How did it become the poster child for tort reform, what is tort reform and how does it affect everyday Americans?
