Kramer v. Java World: Images, Issues, and Idols in the Debate over Tort Reform
![handle is hein.journals/capulr26 and id is 711 raw text is: KRAMER v. JAVA WORLD:
IMAGES, ISSUES, AND IDOLS IN THE DEBATE OVER
TORT REFORM
MARK B. GREENLEE *
Stories about frivolous lawsuits have become a staple of our media
culture. A $3.4 billion verdict against CSX for a railroad accident in
which no one was seriously hurt,1 a $4 million verdict against BMW for a
bad paint job,2 and a $2.9 million verdict against McDonald's over spilled
coffee3 are just a few of the more prominent examples of the cases cited
by the media as evidence of a legal system run amok. These stories have
altered public perception of the legal system and influenced legislative
initiatives to change our tort laws. The quintessential anecdote in the
debate over tort reform has been the McDonald's hot coffee case, Liebeck
v. McDonald's Restaurants,4 which involved injuries an elderly woman
sustained after spilling a cup of hot coffee which she had placed between
her legs at a McDonald's drive-thru. The Liebeck case attracted quite a bit
of negative media attention immediately after the $2.9 million verdict.5 It
Copyright © 1997, Mark B. Greenlee.
*Senior Attorney, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Allegheny College, B.S.
1980; Capital University, J.D., 1983. The views expressed herein are those of the author
and not those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Excerpts from the episode of
Seinfeld entitled The Maestro written by Larry David C 1995 Castle Rock Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission of Castle Rock Entertainment.
lSee In re New Orleans Train Car Leakage Fire Litigation, 702 So.2d 677 (La.
1997); Review & Outlook (Editorial): Louisiana Jackpot, WALL ST. J., Sept. 18, 1997, at
A14; John M. Broker, Stares of Lawyerly Disbelief at Huge Civil Award, N.Y. TIMES, Sept.
10, 1997, at DI; Allen R. Myerson, Supreme Court in Louisiana Blocks Award in CSX
Case, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 1, 1997, at D3.
2See BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 116 S.Ct. 1589 (1996); Linda
Greenhouse, For First Time, Justices Reject Punitive Award, N.Y. TIMES, May 21, 1996, at
A]; Kevin Johnson & Earle Eldridge, Ruling in BMW Case Divides Legal Arena, USA
TODAY, May 21, 1996, at IB; Paul M. Barrett, Justices Reject BMW Penalty As
Excessive, WALL ST. J., May 21, 1996, at A3.
3See Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, P.T.S., Inc., No. CV-93-02419, 1995
WL 360309 (Bernalillo County, N.M. Dist. Ct. Aug. 18, 1994).
41d
5See, e.g., Big Bucks for Dumb Luck? Coffee is Hot and Life is Full of Risks-
Deal With It, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIB., Aug. 25, 1994, at BI I (What is needed is some
common sense and personal responsibility. McDonald's didn't bum Liebeck, who chose to
drink hot coffee and chose to open the lid when she did. Liebeck burned herself.); Rick
Van Warner, The Legal Wheel of Fortune is Spinning Out of Control, NATION'S
RESTAURANT NEWS, Sept. 12, 1994, at 47 ([D]oesn't common sense count for anything
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Kramer v. Java World: Images, Issues, and Idols in the Debate over Tort Reform
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