A Los Angeles County jury says Starbucks is liable for injuries of a customer burned during a botched drive-through drink handoff — to the tune of $50 million.
L.A. resident Michael Garcia claimed that he was severely burned in 2020 after his tray of hot teas “caved in on itself,” he said in a deposition. First one, then another hot drink toppled onto his lap, their lids popping off. He suffered severe burns, including to his genitalia, he claimed.
Garcia accused Starbucks of negligence, and produced a store security video that appeared to show that one of the Venti-sized drinks sat askew in the tray as a barista passed the order to him through a drive-through window.
Jurors on Friday agreed, and ordered the Seattle-based company to pay Garcia $50 million for past and future damage that include pain and suffering.
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Starbucks said it plans to appeal the verdict.
“We sympathize with Mr. Garcia, but we disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” Starbucks Director of Corporate Communications Jaci Anderson said Saturday in a statement to The Times. “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks.”
The award harks back to civil court judgments against McDonald’s after a jury in 1994 awarded $3 million to an Albuquerque woman who was scalded by hot coffee. Stella Liebeck, who was 79, suffered third-degree burns that required multiple skin grafts. Her lawyers had argued McDonald’s had a history of hundreds of consumer injury complaints.
A judge later greatly reduced the award, but the McDonald’s case was frequently cited in campaigns for limits on tort awards.
Garcia’s attorneys did not reply immediately to a Times request for comment but told another news outlet that Starbucks carried some responsibility for the actions of its barista, who according to court records said she did not remember the incident.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” one of Garcia’s attorneys, Nick Rowley, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
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The incident described in the lawsuit occurred on Feb. 8, 2020, at a Starbucks drive-through in Exposition Park. Garcia, a then-25-year-old Postmates delivery driver, was picking up an order of three Venti hot teas. They were served to him in a cardboard drink carrier.
At some point during the handoff, two of the teas fell from the carrier and spilled onto Garcia’s lap, leaving him with “horrific burn injuries that required multiple surgeries” and “permanent disfigurement” to his groin region, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Medical records filed in the case show he underwent two skin grafts and suffered lasting pain and sexual dysfunction.
Garcia blamed the spill on a barista, whom he claimed “did not securely fasten the lids of each hot beverage that were negligently, carelessly and recklessly served to Plaintiff.” He testified that from the start he could see the lid on one of the drinks was not set in place.
Starbucks in its initial response argued that Garcia did not sustain “any injury, damage or loss by reason of any act or omission” by its employees, court documents said.
During the trial, the company further alleged some fault lay with Garcia as a result of “contributory negligence,” the documents said.
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Before the jury trial, Starbucks offered Garcia $3 million — and later $30 million — to settle, CBS News reported.
Garcia agreed on the condition that the company apologize and change its policies, including adding a requirement that all employees double-check that hot drinks are secure before giving them to customers, the CBS report said. Starbucks refused the terms, and the case went to trial.
South Los Angeles resident Muriel Evans filed a similar lawsuit against Starbucks in 2024, alleging she suffered significant nerve damage and disfigurement after a barista mishandled a cup of coffee and spilled it in her lap. Lawyers in the case accused Starbucks of “reckless disregard” for customer safety by serving hot drinks in defective cups “despite countless reports and warnings.”
Evans’ jury trial is scheduled for February 2026.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
