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Comment by fishtoaster | Hacker News Reader

That doesn't seem to match what's in wikipedia:

> Liebeck's attorneys argued that coffee should never be served hotter than 140 °F (60 °C), and that a number of other establishments served coffee at a substantially lower temperature than McDonald's. The attorneys presented evidence that coffee they had tested all over the city was served at a temperature at least 20 °F (11 °C) lower than McDonald's coffee.

Reading through wikipedia's discussion of the trial and verdict, it sounds like the case hinged entirely on the temperature of the coffee being unusually high, and not the cup design.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restau...

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It's strange that despite the research showing that most customers intend to consume the coffee immediately and despite this lawsuit and, apparently, others, McDonald's and other establishments continue to serve coffee at such a high temperature. Every time I buy a hot drink (admittedly, not that often) I can't actually drink it for several minutes.

You stopped reading too soon:

> Since Liebeck, McDonald's has not reduced the service temperature of its coffee. McDonald's current policy is to serve coffee at 176–194 °F (80–90 °C) [...] Similarly, as of 2004, Starbucks sells coffee at 175–185 °F (79–85 °C), and the executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America reported that the standard serving temperature is 160–185 °F (71–85 °C).[citation needed]

Any of this coffee can give you life changing injuries. That's why it is important that it be served in sturdy cups with safety warnings.

Of course the plaintiffs attorney argued coffee should be lower temperature - it literally was their case.

And no, there is no coffee professional (organization, individual, whatever) brewing coffee at 140*F.

Additionally - 140*F water is still going to burn if you spill it all over your clothing. Lastly, the customer removed the lid of the coffee while between her legs, which is how the cup was crushed and coffee ran all over her.

The case was absurd...

The issue was the temperature it was served at, not the temperature it was brewed at...

Nobody is saying the coffee should be brewed at a lower temperature.

That's not an industry standard either though. With a lot of equipment it would be technically impossible, because the pre-heated brew water is what's keeping the standing coffee hot.

The case was not absurd. Even if you think they should be fine to serve it at such a high temperature, she just wanted them to pay $20,000 for her medical bills, but McDonald's used it as a way to cast absurdity onto supposed tort abuse and it worked with most of the population still saying things like "you can even sue someone if you spill your own coffee".

> it worked with most of the population still saying things like "you can even sue someone if you spill your own coffee".

I don't understand how what you wrote gels with the grandparents comment of:

> Lastly, the customer removed the lid of the coffee while between her legs, which is how the cup was crushed and coffee ran all over her.

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