Dunkin’ Lawsuit: Why The Donut Chain Is Being Sued For Serving Coffee

Dunkin’ finds itself in hot water after a New Jersey man accused the donut chain of spilling hot coffee on his lap.

Leonard Allen of Vineland claims he was burned by the cup of coffee when he went through a local Dunkin’ drive-thru in August 2020, NJ.com reported. He is also suing the Dunkin’ store’s manager and the female employee who served him the coffee.

Allen contends in his suit filed on Feb. 18, obtained by NJ.com, that the employee “without any due caution” served him a “scalding hot” medium coffee that caused the entire cup to spill on his lap, causing immediate and agonizing pain to his thigh and groin area.

Allen alleges that the employee failed to properly secure the coffee cup and lid, acting in a “negligent and careless manner,” according to NJ.com. He claims he suffered second-degree burns to his “persons and other personal injuries of both temporary and permanent nature."

Due to his injuries, Allen said in court documents, he will “be compelled to expend large sums of money for physicians and medical treatment in an attempt to cure himself of said injuries and has been prevented from attending to his normal business and affairs, and has suffered various other economic and noneconomic damages.”

Allen did not request a specific damages amount but rather requested reasonable and proper compensation, including interest and court costs.

The news of the Dunkin’ lawsuit follows other significant complaints that have been filed against restaurant chains involving coffee orders. Starbucks, Burger King, and most notably McDonald’s have had their share of legal troubles involving the hot beverage.

The most public was a case involving McDonald’s, which was ordered to pay $2.86 million to Stella Liebeck in 1994 for injuries due to a hot coffee spill, which was later reduced by a judge to $640,000.

This is not the first hot coffee lawsuit for Dunkin’ either. In 2014, a woman sued the chain, claiming her lid came off her hot tea and was served a temperature not intended for human consumption, giving her second-degree burns, NJ.com reported.