HBO Documentary Films: Summer Series - Hot Coffee (HBO)
HOT COFFEE examines the dangers of so-called âtort reformâ and its threat to our civil justice system. Using the now-infamous legal battle over a spilled cup of McDonaldâs coffee as a springboard, the film follows four families, including McDonaldâs plaintiff Stella Liebeck and KBR/Halliburton plaintiff Jaime Leigh Jones, whose lives have been profoundly affected by their inability to access the courts, and examines the role of corporations and a complicit media in promoting âtort reform.â 89 related articles
HBO Documentary Films: Summer Series - Hot Coffee (HBO)
HOT COFFEE examines the dangers of so-called âtort reformâ and its threat to our civil justice system. Using the now-infamous legal battle over a spilled cup of McDonaldâs coffee as a springboard, the film follows four families, including McDonaldâs plaintiff Stella Liebeck and KBR/Halliburton plaintiff Jaime Leigh Jones, whose lives have been profoundly affected by their inability to access the courts, and examines the role of corporations and a complicit media in promoting âtort reform.â Click to see Film Promo
Sreenings were first held in New York and Washington, and the film made its public debut on HBO on June 27. "Hot Coffee
If you missed the premiere of HOT COFFEE, donât worry. You can still catch this must-see film about how corporate interests twisted the public debate against our civil justice system. HBO and HBO2 are re-airing the film several times over the next few weeks.
- HBO: June 30 (12:30 PM), July 2 (9:00 AM), July 5 (9:30 AM), July 10 (3:00 PM), July 12 (11:30 PM)
- HBO2: June 29 (7:00 PM), July 16 (5:10 AM), July 25 (3:55 AM), July 28 (5:30 PM)
It is also available on HBOâs On-Demand service. And, DVDs will be available in the fall. You can sign up to pre-order DVDs here.
Documentary on âHot Coffeeâ Case Airs on HBO; Public Approves, Tort Defense Blog Sees Flaws
By Mark Hansen
Over the years, the words "hot coffee" have become virtually synonomous with the phrase "frivolous litigation."
It all dates back to the notorious case of Stella Liebeck, the elderly woman who was awarded nearly $3 million in a lawsuit against McDonald's in 1994 over a cup of spilled coffee that left her with second- and third-degree burns.
The case quickly became fodder for late-night comedians and a symbol of everything that is wrong with the civil litigation system.
But the real story is a lot more complicatedâand a lot more troublingâthan the one of popular lore. And a new HBO documentary, "Hot Coffee," by lawyer-director Susan Saladoff, is giving many people a new appreciation for the case.
"Everybody knowsâor thinks they knowâthe McDonald's case," Saladoff told the New York Times. "But they really don't know it at all."
"I made this movie because I had something to say that needed to be said, and nobody else was saying it, at least to regular folks, to the public," she added.
The movie, first shown at the Sundance film festival, has drawn some positive reviews from media critics. Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post said after Sundance that the film provided the "kind of narrative that sends audiences out of the theater thinking in a brand-new way about something they thought they understood."
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