Cengage Advantage Books: Essentials of Business Law 5th Edition by Jeffrey Beatty,Susan Samuelson

Exercise 5

You have most likely heard of the Liebeck v. McDonalds case. Liebeck spilled hot McDonald's coffee in her lap and suffered third-degree burns. At trial, evidence showed that her cup of coffee was brewed at 190 degrees, and that, more typically, a restaurant's "hot coffee" is in the range of 140 to 160 degrees.
A jury awarded Liebeck $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. The judge reduced the punitive award to $480,000, or three times the compensatory award.
Comment on the case and whether the result was reasonable.