Hot Coffee

Amazon.com

Many people recall the infamous 1994 episode in which an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck spilled a cup of scalding hot McDonald's coffee in her lap, resulting in major burns and a lawsuit against the restaurant chain that earned her nearly $2.6 million in damages (many fewer remember that the amount was very substantially reduced in a subsequent judgment). Filmmaker Susan Saladoff obviously remembers--the incident provided the title for and is featured prominently in Hot Coffee, her documentary about the nature of civil suits. But Saladoff, who is herself a lawyer, has an unexpected take on the matter. The Liebeck case, the film suggests, was in fact a public relations coup for McDonald's, who helped turn it into Exhibit A in the campaign to limit so-called "frivolous" lawsuits, also known as "tort reform." But while those who advocated tort reform contended that it would be good for everyone, including taxpayers, the principal beneficiary was big business (President George W. Bush's crusade to limit medical malpractice suits is represented here as a gift to giant insurance companies), while genuine victims, including Liebeck, were denied justice (when several man-on-the-street interviewees are shown graphic photos of her severe injuries, they quickly change their tunes about the frivolity of her suit). Other serious charges are leveled in the course of the film, which argues that caps on the amount of damages awarded by juries in civil suits have been disastrous for deserving plaintiffs; that the big business-loving U.S. Chamber of Commerce has helped defeat any number of state supreme court justices whose rulings have favored plaintiffs over corporate defendants; and that the insistence by many companies that employees sign contracts forbidding them to sue their employers, forcing them to instead submit to mandatory arbitration, has put their fates into the hands of people hired solely to protect the company's interests (the tale of one young woman who worked for Halliburton in Iraq is especially disturbing). It's unlikely that Hot Coffee will be garnering many positive reviews on Fox News, as the film's point of view is decidedly pro-consumer/anti-corporation. Still, regardless of one's political leanings, it will be hard not to be shocked by what it says about our legal system. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Not only does this video set the record straight on the widely misunderstood court case concerning the woman who in 1992 was seriously burned by a cup of McDonald's coffee; but it also examines several less notorious but no less devastating cases and uses them all as a platform for a discussion of the tort reform movement. The injured parties and family representatives relate their stories; while legal and medical experts discuss the injuries; evidence; and legal procedures. Filmmaker and former attorney Saladoff skillfully incorporates poignant cases that illustrate the often unjust effects of such reform measures as damage caps and mandatory arbitration contract clauses on the rights of victims. She inserts on-the-street interviews with average citizens to reveal common misconceptions about tort reform; while appearances by Sen. Al Franken and author/lawyer John Grisham help to explain the issues and add celebrity power. The film raises questions about the motives and activities of the American Tort Reform Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The graphic footage of the burns in the McDonald's case is necessary to put to rest the notion that the victim was simply greedy. Bonus features include an insightful look at how the politically charged language of tort reform was crafted to influence opinion. VERDICT This well-made film goes beyond advocacy group sound bites and provides an intelligible analysis of what tort reform means to consumers; victims; and public figures; it will appeal to consumer protection groups; the legal community; and general audiences interested in protecting their legal rights.--Joan Pedzich; formerly with Harris Beach PLLC; Pittsford; NY Copyright 2012 Reed Business Information.

Review

Stunning debut … Sends audiences out of the theater thinking in a brand new way. --Washington Post

Entertaining, informative … vividly illuminating. --Hollywood Reporter, ISBN13: B00595W3MO ISBN10: B00595W3MO Material Type: dvd