Langdon & Emison Hosts Free Screening of Hot Coffee Documentary - 2012-02-16

Langdon & Emison sponsored a screening of the documentary film Hot Coffee on Thursday night in Columbia, Missouri, at the University of Missouri School of Law. The event was co-hosted with the student chapter of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys at Mizzou. The screening of the movie on the subject of "tort reform" was followed by a Q&A session with the director of the movie, Susan Saladoff, by Skype. Mark Emison served as moderator of the evening.

"Hot Coffee" exposes and examines the mechanisms by which corporations seek to deny consumers access to the courtroom and perpetuate inequities within the civil justice system. The film opens by reconstructing the infamous “McDonald’s coffee case,” in which a woman who suffered extensive third-degree burns after spilling a cup of coffee into her lap was awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages. The case then became a rallying point for inserting caps on damages in civil lawsuits imposed by government.

Through a series of interviews featuring the jurors who had ruled in favor of the plaintiff along with her physician, attorney, and family members, the film dispels a number of popular misconceptions surrounding the case. For instance, contrary to general assumption, the plaintiff had requested compensation only to finance medical expenses, and McDonald’s had previously faced—and ignored—over 700 complaints about burns from hot drinks.

The documentary highlights the well-organized "tort reform" PR campaign launched in the wake of the “coffee case” by corporate interests with political clout. The campaign succeeded both in limiting the amount plaintiffs could receive in damages and electing conservative pro-business judges to state courts. The movie also illustrates  the extent to which corporate contributions can influence judicial campaigns, citing the election of former Mississippi state justice Oliver Diaz as a recent example.

Following the “coffee case,” two other court cases are invoked to illustrate the shortcomings of the civil justice system: a medical malpractice case is examined where the plaintiffs couldn't fully recover the compensation awarded in court due to state caps on damages. And the movie wraps up with a dispute involving a woman who had unknowingly forfeited her right to seek access to her right to a trial-by-jury for sexual assault as a result of a mandatory arbitration clause in her employment contract.

The film's promotional material sets up the premise for the film this way:  "Seinfeld mocked it. Letterman put it on one of his Top Ten lists. More than 15 years later, the McDonald’s coffee case continues to be cited as a prime example of how citizens use 'frivolous' lawsuits to take unfair advantage of America’s legal system. But is that an accurate portrayal of the facts?"

To produce and direct this work, Saladoff spent twenty-five years practicing law in the civil justice system, representing injured victims of individual and corporate negligence. She stopped practicing law in 2009 to make the documentary, which was her first feature-length film.

She began her career as a public interest lawyer with the law firm of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, now known as Public Justice, an organization that, for the last 25 years, has been at the forefront of keeping America’s courthouse doors open to all. Susan was recognized by her peers as an Oregon Super Lawyer for five consecutive years from 2006 to 2010. She is a graduate of Cornell University and George Washington University Law School, and has frequently lectured at the state and national levels on the importance of the civil justice system.